Corporate Crime & Compliance UK

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Lynch's Death Puts UK-US Extradition Under The Microscope

The death of technology tycoon Mike Lynch has triggered calls by a lawmaker to scrap Britain's extradition agreement with the U.S. amid proposals that U.K. citizens should be prosecuted at home, although lawyers say the status quo is unlikely to change.
August 30, 2024
UK Drops Antitrust Probe Into School Software Co.

A United Kingdom school software company is no longer facing antitrust scrutiny over alleged litigation threats against schools looking to switch providers, but the firm continues to suggest that it may take action against the "misuse of its intellectual property" that it says complaints to authorities were meant to hide.
August 30, 2024
Danish Gov't Pledges No Ponzi Analogies At $2.1B Tax Trial

The Danish tax authority won't compare pension funds, investors and attorneys it has accused of defrauding Denmark in a $2.1 billion tax refund scheme to a Ponzi scheme or infamous perpetrator Bernie Madoff, it said Friday in New York federal court.
August 30, 2024
UK's Labour Gov't Urged To Raise Capital Gains Tax

The Labour government is facing calls to raise the capital gains tax despite financial firms advising investors to sell off their assets or even leave the United Kingdom over the possible tax hike.
August 30, 2024
Couple Accused Of £29B Fraud Forced To Disclose Wealth

A Chinese couple could be forced to divulge how they built a multimillion-pound property business in the U.K. after a London judge ruled Friday that investigators had reason to suspect their money came from an alleged £29 billion ($38 billion) banking fraud.
August 30, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen television property developer Kambiz Babaee hit with a fraud claim, a Bitcoin podcaster reignite a dispute with Australian computer scientist Craig Wright and football club owner Massimo Cellino's company file a claim against ClearBank. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
August 30, 2024
Swiss Banks Face Legal Issues On Instant Payments

The Swiss Banking Association has warned that the requirement for the largest banks to offer instant payments from August is raising challenges around legal requirements like verifying the recipient's identity and sanctions checks.
August 30, 2024
Ex-Lawyer Denies Conducting Litigation Without Authorization

A former lawyer appeared in court Friday to deny conducting litigation in family proceedings without being authorized.
August 30, 2024
Widow Alleges Stake To $3B Oligarch Fortune Is Made Up

The widow and daughter of a Russian cement tycoon have argued that his family "invented" a business partnership agreement to rob them of inheritance, in the latest development of a fight over more than $3 billion in assets.
August 30, 2024
Standard Life Named 'Safe Haven' For Defrauded Pensioners

Insurer Standard Life has been appointed as a "safe haven" pension provider for members of retirement schemes that have lost out to fraud, the company said.
August 29, 2024
Chicago Museum Clinging To Nazi-Looted Art, NY Court Told

A prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office argued in court Thursday that the Art Institute of Chicago is ignoring the horrors of the Nazi regime as it "desperately" attempts to hold onto a Holocaust victim's stolen Egon Schiele drawing.
August 29, 2024
Fight Against Dirty Money Should Target Lawyers, Report Says

Britain's use of foreign aid to fund the fight against dirty money overseas falls short of what is needed, an anti-corruption charity warned Thursday, as it urged law enforcement authorities to take action against those who help perpetrators.
August 29, 2024
Feds Say Ex-BigLaw Atty Can't Shake OneCoin Conviction

Federal prosecutors have told the Second Circuit that former Locke Lord LLP partner Mark S. Scott has "greatly exaggerate[d]" the importance of testimony from a government witness, some of which was later shown to be perjury, in a bid to have his money laundering conviction reversed.
August 29, 2024
UK Man Hid Yacht Fraud During Green Card Bid, Feds Say

A U.K. man was charged with lying on a green card application when he failed to mention that he had served three years in prison for numerous fraud schemes and reportedly attempted to flee after being arrested, Boston prosecutors announced Thursday.
August 29, 2024
Ex-Cooley Solicitor To Face Disciplinary Tribunal For Stalking

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has referred a former solicitor at Cooley LLP to a disciplinary tribunal after he was convicted by a criminal court of stalking a woman for more than three months.
August 29, 2024
Oil Execs Get 13 Years For $1.8B 1MDB Fraud

Two former PetroSaudi executives have been sentenced at a Swiss court to a combined 13 years in prison for embezzling more than $1.8 billion from Malaysia's state-backed investment fund in what prosecutors said was one of the biggest frauds ever perpetrated.
August 29, 2024
EU Warns That Greenwashing Risk Could Hit Investment

The European Union's markets watchdog said Thursday in its latest risk monitoring report that greenwashing and related malpractices are undermining investor trust and the credibility of green finance.
August 29, 2024
Ombudsman Reports 70% Surge In Financial Complaints

Users of financial products lodged 70% more complaints in the first quarter of the 2024/25 financial year compared with the corresponding previous period, the Financial Ombudsman Service reported on Thursday, a jump from almost 44,000 to approximately 75,000.
August 28, 2024
Nutrition Biz Says UK Co. Used 'Nutramax' TM For Scam Site

A supplements provider has sued a British company and its director in a London court for allegedly using the provider's "Nutramax" trademark on a scam business that targets "vulnerable and elderly" shoppers.
August 28, 2024
Ex-Weightmans Pro Struck Off Over Lies And False Emails

A former Weightmans LLP and Capsticks LLP solicitor was struck off by a tribunal on Wednesday after she admitted lying to her boss about completing work, falsifying emails and concealing the fact she was fired over the dishonesty.
August 28, 2024
Collapsed Forex Broker To Pay Whistleblowing Exec £564K

A compliance director at a foreign exchange brokerage who reported the firm to the financial services watchdog over its alleged illicit activities has won more than £560,000 ($740,000) after a tribunal ruled the company had unlawfully sacked him.
August 28, 2024
HP's $4B Problem: Fight, Or Leave Lynch's Family Alone?

Legal troubles created by the sale of Mike Lynch's business to Hewlett Packard are unlikely to end with his death — the technology giant has refused to rule out pursuing the tycoon's estate for $4 billion as it weighs the risk of upsetting shareholders against the damage to its reputation, lawyers say.
August 28, 2024
FCA To Launch Probe Into 'Pure Protection' Insurance Market

The financial watchdog said Wednesday that it plans to investigate competition within the pure protection insurance market in the U.K. amid concerns that consumers might not be getting fair value from these products.
August 27, 2024
Forsters, Ex-Bank Lawyer Try To Duck Property Deal Case

Forsters LLP and a former Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi lawyer who was convicted of a multimillion-pound fraud are seeking to avoid being dragged into a philanthropist's £3.5 million ($4.6 million) legal battle over a collapsed property deal.
August 27, 2024
Money Laundering Cases Surge At Crown Courts, KPMG Says

The overall value of fraud cases involving money laundering heard at crown courts has risen nearly fourfold in the first half of this year, according a report issued by KPMG on Wednesday.
August 27, 2024
Ex-Barclays Exec Loses Appeal Over FCA Ban On Senior Job

Former Barclays wealth boss Thomas Kalaris has lost his appeal against the Financial Conduct Authority's decision banning him from holding a regulated senior management position at the firm he founded, as a London tribunal found in a judgment made public Tuesday he had given false evidence during interviews with the regulator.

Editor's Picks

NCA Ducks Litigation Risk In 1st Seizure Of Sanctioned Assets

The decision by the National Crime Agency to secure the forfeiture of the assets of a sanctioned Russian oligarch is a pragmatic victory that avoids the risk of setting a damaging legal precedent, lawyers say.
How 3 Firms Cleared 2 Ex-Autonomy Execs In HP Fraud Case

A California federal jury's rejection last week of fraud charges against the founder and former finance vice president of British software company Autonomy validated an approach by the defendants' three law firms — Steptoe, Clifford Chance and Bird Marella — to form a "seamless" collaboration throughout the trial, from jury selection to closing arguments.
Starmer Could Crack Judicial Crisis, Former CPS Chiefs Say

Keir Starmer's lead in the polls as the general election in July approaches has sparked hopes among criminal justice advocates that the Labour leader — a former top prosecutor — will implement reforms as prime minister.

Expert Analysis

Embedding Consumer Duty: 6 Areas Firms Should Prioritize

The Financial Conduct Authority has repeatedly emphasized that complying with the Consumer Duty is not a tick-box exercise but an ongoing responsibility, so firms need to show that the duty is at the heart of their practices by staying compliant in areas from cultural change to customer vulnerability, say Nicola Higgs and Becky Critchley at Latham.
2 UK Rulings Highlight Persistent Push Payment Fraud Issues

Two recent High Court decisions, Larsson v. Revolut and Terna DOO v. Revolut, demonstrate that authorized push payment fraud continues to cause headaches for consumers and financial institutions alike, and with forthcoming mandatory reimbursement requirements, more APP fraud litigation can be expected, say lawyers at Charles Russell.
Open Questions 3 Years After 2nd Circ.'s Fugitive Ruling

The Second Circuit’s 2021 decision in U.S. v. Bescond, holding that a French resident indicted abroad did not meet the legal definition of a fugitive, deepened a circuit split on the fugitive disentitlement doctrine, and courts continue to grapple with the doctrine’s reach and applicability, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert.
What Labour Has In Mind For UK Data Protection Law Reform

The U.K.'s new Labour government is indicating that it will strengthen the country's cybersecurity regime, and introduce artificial intelligence legislation similar to that of the European Union, in an attempt to further reform data protection law and harness the power of data for economic growth, says Victoria Hordern at Taylor Wessing.
ECJ Cartel Damages Rulings Are Wins For Multinational Cos.

Two decisions from the European Court of Justice last month clarifying the limits of the single economic unit doctrine in cartel damages proceedings will help multinational companies anticipate and prepare for litigation within a narrower band of possible jurisdictions, say lawyers at Linklaters.
Takeaways From EU's 'Pay Or Consent' Advertising Probe

Anne-Gabrielle Haie and Charles Whiddington at Steptoe examine key points from the European Commission's recent investigation into Big Tech's use of "pay or consent" advertising models, as well as the European Data Protection Board’s opinion on how such models can comply with EU competition and data protection laws.
Why NCA's 1st Seizure Of Sanctioned Funds Is Significant

The National Crime Agency’s recently secured forfeiture of a Russian oligarch's sanctioned funds was a landmark achievement, and is particularly notable because it was made under the Proceeds of Crime Act, illustrating how U.K. authorities can coordinate their respective powers to confiscate assets, says Lindsey Cullen at WilmerHale.
UK Judgment Could Change Anti-Money Laundering Regimes

After the Court of Appeal of England and Wales' determination that criminal property remains criminal property in the hands of its purchaser even if purchased at market value, many businesses could face a new or heightened risk of prosecution for criminality in their supply chains and related money laundering offenses, say lawyers at Macfarlanes.
Takeaways From First EU Foreign Subsidy M&A Investigation

The European Commission's recent investigation into Emirates Telecommunications' proposed acquisition of PPF Telecom is the first in-depth investigation of an M&A deal under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, demonstrating that the regulation can have real consequences in practice that companies must consider at the outset of large transactions, says Matthew Hall at McGuireWoods.
Takeaways From New FCA Rules On Research Payments

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recently published final rules on payment optionality for investment research, which involve a client disclosure obligation option, will be welcome news for U.K. managers who buy investment research from U.S. brokers, and for global asset management groups, says Anna Maleva-Otto at Schulte Roth.
How Digital Markets Act Will Enhance Consumer Protections

The Digital Markets Act represents a major shift in U.K. competition and consumer protection law by introducing a new regulatory regime for large digital firms, and by giving the Competition and Markets Authority broader merger investigation powers and a wider enforcement remit for online activities, say lawyers at Cooley.
What Steps Businesses Can Take After CrowdStrike Failure

Following last month’s global Microsoft platform outage caused by CrowdStrike’s failed security software update, businesses can expect complex disputes over liability resulting from multilayered agreements and should look to their various insurance policies for cover despite losses not stemming from a cyberattack, says Daniel Healy at Brown Rudnick.
Drafting Settlement Agreements That Avoid Future Disputes

Several recent U.K. rulings highlight the importance of drafting precise settlement agreements to prevent time-consuming and costly disputes over what claims the agreements were meant to cover, says Michelle Radom at Osborne Clarke.
Int'l Treaties May Aid Investors Amid UK Rail Renationalization

The recently introduced Passenger Railway Services Bill seeks to return British railways to public ownership without compensating affected investors, a move that could trigger international investment treaty protections for obligation breaches, says Philipp Kurek at Signature Litigation.
What EU Opinion May Mean For ESG Product Classification

The recently issued European Supervisory Authority opinion on the Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation offers key recommendations, including revising the definition of sustainable investments and making principal adverse impacts consideration mandatory, that could sway the European Commission’s final approach to product classification, say lawyers at Debevoise.