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Corporate Crime & Compliance UK
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November 28, 2024
Former Finance Execs Must Pay £45M For Takeover Violations
The financial troubles of three former executives of MWB Group, an investment firm that has collapsed, does not preclude them from owing £44.8 million ($56.8 million) in compensation for violating the U.K. takeover rules by deceiving shareholders, a court ruled on Thursday.
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November 28, 2024
Ex-HMRC Compliance Officer Helped Husband Launder £3M
A former compliance officer with HM Revenue and Customs has been handed a suspended sentence for her role in a £3 million ($3.8 million) money laundering operation carried out by her husband, the Crown Prosecution Service has said.
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November 28, 2024
SFO General Counsel Sara Lawson To Step Down Early 2025
The Serious Fraud Office said on Thursday that its general counsel, Sara Lawson KC, is stepping down at the end of January after almost six years as the agency's most senior lawyer.
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November 28, 2024
FCA Reworks Plans To Name Firms Under Investigation
The Financial Conduct Authority issued "significant" revisions to controversial proposals for publicizing investigations of wrongdoing on Thursday, including a move to give businesses more time to make justifications to the watchdog before being named.
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November 27, 2024
BlueCrest Disputes 'Disguised Salary' Claim In HMRC Case
British-American hedge fund BlueCrest Capital Management LLP pushed back Wednesday against arguments from the U.K. tax authority that its portfolio managers are employees receiving a disguised salary.
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November 27, 2024
FCA Strengthens Whistleblowing Policy After Staff Complaints
The Financial Conduct Authority said Wednesday that it has updated its internal whistleblowing policy in the wake of complaints from employees that it has failed to properly act on intelligence provided by informers.
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November 27, 2024
SFO Must Disclose Cost Of Botched Unaoil Probe
The Serious Fraud Office must disclose the total cost of its controversial Unaoil investigation after a tribunal rejected the authority's argument that providing the details would hamper its ability to prosecute economic crime.
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November 27, 2024
LSB Needs Bigger Budget After Axiom Ince Probe Overspend
The body that oversees the regulation of lawyers plans to increase its next annual budget by 11% as it admitted it had overspent in the current financial year because of higher-than-expected costs from its review of Axiom Ince.
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November 27, 2024
Dyson Fights To Keep Workers' Forced Labor Claim Out Of UK
British appliance manufacturer Dyson fought on Wednesday to keep a forced labor case out of England, telling a London appeals court that claims that migrant workers were abused in Malaysian factories should be heard in the Asian country.
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November 27, 2024
FCA Fines Former Wizz Air Exec Over Share Trades
The City watchdog said Wednesday it has fined a former executive at budget airline operator Wizz Air Holdings PLC over unallowed trading in the airline's shares worth more than £4 million ($5 million).
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November 27, 2024
UK Investors Denied Appeal In Barclays Dark Pool Claim
A High Court Judge refused Wednesday to allow U.K. investors to challenge his decision striking out claims worth £330 million ($418 million) from securities fraud litigation alleging that Barclays dishonestly delayed publishing information about its dark pool trading system.
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November 27, 2024
Briton Fights South African Extradition In £36M Bribery Case
A British businessman wanted in South Africa over an alleged £36 million ($46 million) government bribery scandal urged a London judge on Wednesday to hit the brakes on his extradition following recent findings that the request is unconstitutional.
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November 27, 2024
HSBC Loses Challenge To €32M Euribor Rigging Fine
HSBC Holdings PLC has lost its challenge to a €31.7 million ($33.4 million) European Union fine for rigging Euribor, as a European court rejected on Wednesday the bank's argument that the penalty was imposed out of time.
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November 27, 2024
UK Court's National Security Decision Highlights M&A Risk
A court decision that compelled LetterOne, a Russian-backed investment firm, to sell a broadband provider highlights the regulatory risk posed to corporate dealmakers by the government's far-reaching national security discretion, including the costly prospect that they might have to unwind concluded transactions.
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November 26, 2024
UK Gov't Urged To Hold Off On Changes To Inheritance Tax
The British Labour government should hold off on inheritance tax changes for farmers, scheduled to take effect in April, that would make gifts to their heirs taxable if they occur within seven years of the giver's death, a U.K. economics think tank said.
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November 26, 2024
Prince Harry, Celebs Can Keep Daily Mail Burglary Allegations
Prince Harry and Elton John saw their case against the Daily Mail's publishers get a boost on Tuesday, as a London court refused to toss claims that its journalists had hired investigators to carry out burglaries.
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November 26, 2024
'Incompetent' FCA Needs Gov't-Led Radical Reform, MPs Say
The Financial Conduct Authority is not fit for purpose and requires government intervention for an extensive overhaul to address its "significant shortcomings" if it is to be an effective regulator, a group of cross-party MPs said in a report published Tuesday.
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November 26, 2024
Migrant Workers Want Dyson Forced Labor Claim Heard In UK
A group of migrant workers urged the Court of Appeal on Tuesday to allow a compensation claim to be brought against British appliance maker Dyson in the U.K. over alleged labor abuses that took place at a Malaysian factory run by a former contractor.
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November 26, 2024
Brokerage Service Denies Helping $129M Forex Fraud
A provider of brokerage services has denied giving credit for a company that carried out an alleged $129 million Ponzi scheme, saying in court filings that it had no knowledge of the fraud.
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November 26, 2024
UK Regulators Propose Relaxing Rules On Bankers' Pay
The Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority jointly announced plans on Tuesday to ease restrictions on bonuses for senior bankers, with the aim to make the U.K. more competitive while ensuring accountability in risk management.
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November 26, 2024
OFSI Boss Promises Tougher Fines For Sanctions Breaches
The head of the U.K. sanctions watchdog told MPs on Tuesday to expect more fines with tougher penalties for breaches of financial restrictions to be imposed on oligarchs in the coming months as he admitted that the crackdown has been slower than hoped.
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November 26, 2024
Director Accused Of Bribery Was Unfairly Fired, But Wins £0
A project director at the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station development was dismissed in a "complete absence of fair procedure," but has been awarded no compensation because he was complicit in alleged bribery, an employment tribunal has ruled.
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November 26, 2024
Macquarie Bank Fined £13M For 'Serious' Control Failings
The Financial Conduct Authority said Tuesday that it has fined the London branch of Macquarie Bank Ltd. £13 million ($16.4 million) for significant weaknesses in its systems and controls that allowed a trader to conceal more than 400 fictitious trades over 20 months.
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November 26, 2024
FCA Plans Regulation As UK Crypto-Asset Ownership Grows
The financial regulator published a plan Tuesday for regulating crypto-assets in the U.K. as it reported a rise in the number of British adults who now own digital currency and assets, up from 10% to 12% — or 7 million people.
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November 25, 2024
Employment Rights Bill 'Not Fit For Purpose'
Plans to give employees the right to work flexibly and claim unfair dismissal from their first day in a job are "not fit for purpose," according to an official assessment published on Monday.
Expert Analysis
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Contractual Drafting Takeaways From Force Majeure Ruling
Lawyers at Cleary discuss the U.K. Supreme Court's recent judgment RTI v. MUR Shipping and its important implications, including how the court approached the apparent tension between certainty and commercial pragmatism, and considerations for the drafting of force majeure clauses going forward.
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Takeaways From Regulators' £61.6M Citigroup Trading Fine
Following the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority’s recent significant fining of Citigroup for its catastrophic trading error, and with more enforcement likely, institutions should update their controls and ensure system warnings do not become routine and therefore disregarded, says Abdulali Jiwaji at Signature Litigation.
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Factors For London Cos. To Consider If Adding US Listings
Recent reports of a continuing valuation gap between London and New York have resulted in some London-listed companies considering U.S. listings to gain an increased investor base, but with various obligations and implications involved in such a move, organizations should consider whether there is a real benefit from trading there, say lawyers at Winston & Strawn.
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Behind The Stagecoach Boundary Fare Dispute Settlement
The Competition Appeal Tribunal's recent rail network boundary fare settlement offers group action practitioners some much-needed guidance as it reduces the number of remaining parties' five-year dispute from two to one, says Mohsin Patel at Factor Risk Management.
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Assessing The Energy Act 2023, Eight Months On
Although much of the detail required to fully implement the Energy Act 2023 remains to be finalized, the scale of change in the energy sector is unprecedented, and with the U.K. prioritizing achieving net-zero, it is likely that developments will continue at pace, say lawyers at Paul Hastings.
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Decoding Arbitral Disputes: Spanish Judicial Oversight
The recent conviction of arbitrator Gonzalo Stampa underscores the critical importance of judicial authority in the realm of international arbitration in Spain, and emphasizes that arbitrators must respect the procedural frameworks established by Spanish national courts, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray’s Inn.
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Opinion
Why Timing Makes UK Libor Judgments Controversial
The recent U.K. Court of Appeal decision in the R v. Hayes and Palombo appeal against Libor convictions demonstrates that had U.K. regulators probed with the facts known today, civil claims in all jurisdictions would be dismissed and a decadelong wasted investigation should be put to rest, says Charles Kuhn at Clyde & Co.
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Tips For Orgs Using NDAs In Light Of New UK Legislation
The recent passage of the Victims and Prisoners Act follows a crackdown on the misuse of nondisclosure agreements, but although NDAs are not prohibited and regulators recognize their legitimate justification, organizations relying on them must be able to clearly explain that justification if challenged, say attorneys at Macfarlanes.
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Comparing UK, EU Digital Products Cybersecurity Approaches
New U.K. and EU legislation impose different cybersecurity requirements on manufacturers of connectable products, but despite its higher overall standard and holistic approach, organizations should be aware that compliance with the EU act does not necessarily mean satisfying the U.K. regime, says Christopher Foo at Ropes & Gray.
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Lessons From Epic's Dutch Fine For Unfair Marketing To Kids
Dutch regulators' imposition of a €1.1 million fine on Epic Games for unfair commercial practices targeting children marks a significant moment in the ongoing scrutiny of digital market practices, and follows an increased focus on children's online safety in the U.S. and European Union, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Risks And Promises Of AI In The Financial Services Industry
Generative artificial intelligence has immense potential to revolutionize the financial services industry, but firms considering its use should first prepare to show their customers and the increasingly divided international regulatory community that they can manage the risks inherent to the new technology, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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EU Anti-Greenwashing Guide Analyzed For Fund Managers
Anna Maleva-Otto and Matthew Dow at Schulte Roth explain how the European Securities and Markets Authority’s new guidelines on sustainability-related terms in fund names aim to protect European Union investors from unsubstantiated claims, and how they provide quantifiable criteria for determining which terms can be used to promote their funds.
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FCA 'Finfluencer' Trial Exposes Social Media Promo Risks
The upcoming Financial Conduct Authority prosecution of nine individuals for Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 violations is the first time an online influencer will be tried for using social media to promote investments, demonstrating the need to be wary of the specific legal requirements surrounding financial product promotion, says David Claxton at Red Lion.
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Appeal Ruling Clarifies 3rd-Party Contract Breach Liability
The Court of Appeal's recent decision in Northamber v. Genee World serves as a warning to parties that they may be held liable for inducing another party to breach a contract, even if that party was a willing participant, say Neil Blake, Maura McIntosh and Jennifer O'Brien at HSL.
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How Law Firms Can Handle Challenges Of Mass Claims
With a wave of volume litigation possibly about to hit the U.K. courts, firms developing mass claim practices should ensure they heed the Solicitors Regulation Authority's May warning and adopt strategies to ensure regulatory compliance and fair client representation, says Claire Van der Zant at Shieldpay.