Corporate Crime & Compliance UK

  • July 24, 2024

    Gas Plant Subcontractor Can't Ax £165M Fraud Claims

    A London appeals court refused to block an engineering company's £165 million ($213 million) fraud claims Wednesday, ruling that although the action should have been brought earlier, it is genuine, and the delay has caused little difference to the case's progression.

  • July 24, 2024

    EU Trade Body Warns Against FCA Enforcement Plans

    A trade body for European financial firms has warned that the Financial Conduct Authority's proposed naming of companies in enforcement investigations would make the U.K. an international outlier, damaging competitiveness.

  • July 24, 2024

    Cuban Bank Denies Transferring €72M Debt To Offshore Fund

    Cuba's former central bank told an English appeals court Wednesday that an offshore fund cannot sue it over €72 million ($78.2 million) of unpaid sovereign debt, because it did not consent to the assignment of the debt to the fund.

  • July 24, 2024

    Gov't Backs Off Plans To Expand Scope of Anti-SLAPPs Laws

    A government minister declined to say on Wednesday when politicians might introduce legislation to prevent powerful elites from making abusive legal claims to silence public scrutiny, saying they have to balance access to justice with legitimate claims.

  • July 24, 2024

    Russia Sanctions Enforcement Lacks Bite, UK Charity Says

    Britain must develop a clearer sanctions enforcement strategy, an anti-corruption charity said on Wednesday, as it revealed that the government has issued no fines for breaches of rules since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, more than two years ago.

  • July 24, 2024

    UK Bans 830 Directors For COVID Loan Abuse In 12 Months

    Hundreds of company directors have been banned in the last year as a result of COVID loan abuse, the Insolvency Service said Wednesday, adding that it has recovered almost £3 million ($3.8 million) of taxpayers' money.

  • July 24, 2024

    SRA Reports 2 Law Firms For Suspected Sanctions Breaches

    The Solicitors Regulation Authority has reported two law firms to the sanctions watchdog for suspected breaches of measures against Russia for the first time since the invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago.

  • July 24, 2024

    British Steel Pension Redress Scheme Pays Out £8.7M

    The Financial Conduct Authority said Wednesday that its redress program for steelworkers given poor pensions advice has paid out a total of just £8.7 million ($11.2 million) in compensation.

  • July 23, 2024

    US, UK, EU Antitrust Enforcers Outline AI Principles

    The top antitrust officials from the U.S. Justice Department, the Federal Trade Commission, the European Commission and the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority presented a unified international commitment Tuesday to closely monitor artificial intelligence technology and the companies that they warned could wield AI anticompetitively.

  • July 23, 2024

    'Bully' Solicitor Who Showed Paralegal Lewd Pix Struck Off

    A solicitor accused of bullying "vulnerable" junior colleagues and showing a paralegal pornographic pictures on his phone was struck off by a tribunal Tuesday.

  • July 23, 2024

    BHP Told To Stop Funding Brazil Dam Claim Ahead Of UK Trial

    A London judge on Tuesday blocked mining group BHP from taking part in legal action that aims to prevent some Brazilian municipalities from participating in £36 billion ($46.4 billion) group litigation over one of the country's worst environmental disasters.

  • July 23, 2024

    Post Office's Top In-House Lawyer Takes 'Temporary' Leave

    The general counsel of the Post Office and its primary liaison for the public inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal has taken a "temporary" leave of absence, the organization has confirmed.

  • July 23, 2024

    Lloyds Sued Over Payments Linked To Alleged £1.2B Fraud

    Lloyds and its Bank of Scotland subsidiary have been hit with a £287 million ($370 million) claim brought by liquidators of the external broadcaster Arena Television for allegedly processing payments linked to an alleged £1.2 billion fraud.

  • July 23, 2024

    SFO Hires Former Met Police Officer As Strategy Chief

    A former senior London police officer with a background in economic crime has been tapped to oversee the Serious Fraud Office's strategy, reuniting with his former chief as director Nick Ephgrave fills the vacant role on his executive team.

  • July 23, 2024

    Bond Administrator Enters Liquidation After FCA Restrictions

    The Financial Conduct Authority has confirmed that a London-based bond administrator has entered into liquidation nearly a year after the financial watchdog imposed restrictions on the company over "serious concerns" about its systems and controls.

  • July 22, 2024

    Derivatives Co. Bids To Reinstate Freeze In Global Fraud Case

    International derivatives provider Multibank urged a London appeals court Monday to reimpose an asset freezing order on a German financial services company and its director, arguing that the judge applied the wrong legal tests when deciding whether to lift the restrictions.

  • July 22, 2024

    NatWest Fends Off Bid To Revive Design School Fraud Case

    The Court of Appeal on Monday ruled that the founders of an interior design school could not revive a fraud claim against NatWest because a settlement they penned with the bank prevented the pair from bringing any further claims.

  • July 22, 2024

    Barclays Bids To Cut £330M From 'Dark Pool' Securities Claim

    Barclays urged a London court on Monday to cut claims worth £330 million ($426 million) from securities fraud litigation, arguing that some institutional investors were unaware of a regulatory announcement issued by the bank about its "dark pool" trading platform.

  • July 22, 2024

    Hoka Accused Of Fixing Retail Prices As Trial Kicks Off

    A British running shoe store chain on Monday accused the sneaker maker behind Hoka of fixing retail prices by blocking the seller from using an online discount store, kicking off its trial at the U.K.'s specialist antitrust tribunal.

  • July 22, 2024

    Foul-Mouthed Lawyer Showed Junior Colleague Lewd Pix

    A solicitor bullied junior colleagues in profanity-laced rants and showed a paralegal pornographic pictures on his phone, the Solicitors Regulation Authority told a tribunal Monday.

  • July 22, 2024

    Meta Hit With Fresh Complaint Over 'Pay Or Consent' Model

    Meta has been hit with a complaint from European consumer protection authorities, which fear that the tech giant's "pay or consent" business model for Facebook and Instagram misleads its users, the European Commission said on Monday.

  • July 22, 2024

    EU Renews Russian Financial Sanctions For 6 Months

    The Council of the European Union said Monday that it has extended financial sanctions against Russia for an additional six months in response to the Kremlin's "unprovoked, unjustified and illegal" war against Ukraine.

  • July 22, 2024

    UK Eases Reporting Rules For Investment Stewardship

    Britain's accounting watchdog unveiled changes to the U.K.'s stewardship code for investment on Monday that it said would help reduce the reporting burden for investors.

  • July 19, 2024

    Edwin Coe Adds To Team Ahead Of Planned UK Tax Changes

    Edwin Coe LLP is preparing for an expected surge in disputes following the U.K.'s planned tax changes by hiring as a partner a Harbottle & Lewis lawyer with expertise in litigation and tax planning, according to a news release.

  • July 19, 2024

    Ex-Lib Dem Leader Swinson Grilled Over Horizon Scandal

    Former Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson told an inquiry on Friday into the Post Office accounting scandal that she was reassured when she was the minister responsible for the organization that its systems were robust.

Expert Analysis

  • How 'Copyleft' Licenses May Affect Generative AI Output

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    Open-source software and the copyleft licenses that support it, whereby derivative works must be made available for others to use and modify, have been a boon to the development of artificial intelligence, but could lead to issues for coders who use AI to help write code and may find their resulting work exposed, says William Dearn at HLK.

  • Russia Ruling Shows UK's Robust Jurisdiction Approach

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    An English High Court's recent decision to grant an anti-suit injunction in the Russia-related dispute Renaissance Securities v. Chlodwig Enterprises clearly illustrates that obtaining an injunction will likely be more straightforward when the seat is in England compared to when it is abroad, say lawyers at Linklaters.

  • How New Loan Origination Regime Will Affect Fund Managers

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    Although the recent publication of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive II represents more of an evolution than a revolution, the leverage limitations applicable to loan-originating funds are likely to present practical challenges for European credit fund managers, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • How EU Sustainability Directive Will Improve Co. Reporting

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    The need for organizations to make nonfinancial disclosures under the recently adopted EU Sustainability Reporting Standards will significantly change workforce and human rights reporting, and with the objective of fostering transparency, should bring about an increased focus on risks, policies and action plans, say Philip Spyropoulos and Thomas Player at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • PPI Ruling Spells Trouble For Financial Services Firms

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    The Supreme Court's recent decision in Canada Square v. Potter, which found that the claimant's missold payment protection insurance claim was not time-barred, is bad news for affected financial services firms, as there is now certainty over the law on the postponement of limitation periods, rendering hidden commission claims viable, say Ian Skinner and Chris Webber at Squire Patton.

  • Extradition Ruling Hints At Ways Around High Burden Of Proof

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    The U.K. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Popoviciu v. Curtea De Apel Bucharest confirmed that, in a conviction extradition case, the requested person must establish a flagrant violation of their right to a fair trial, but the court's reasoning reveals creative opportunities to test this boundary in the U.K. and Strasbourg alike, says Rebecca Hughes at Corker Binning.

  • What Lawyers Can Learn From FDI Screening Report Findings

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    The recent European Commission report on the screening of foreign direct investments into the EU reveals how member states need to balance national security concerns with openness, and with more cross-border transactions subject to screening, lawyers must be alert to jurisdictional variances, says Jonathon Gunn at Faegre Drinker.

  • Why Law Firms Should Heed Calls To Put ESG Over Profit

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    According to Deloitte’s recent survey, the majority of Gen Z and millennials remain unimpressed with businesses’ societal impact, and junior lawyers in particular are increasingly expecting the legal profession to shift to a business model that prioritizes sustainability above profitability, says Dana Denis-Smith at Obelisk Support.

  • UK Review May Lead To Lower Investment Screening Burden

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    The government’s current review of national security investment screening rules aims to refine the scope of mandatory notifications required for unproblematic deals, and is likely to result in much-needed modifications to minimize the administrative burden on businesses and investors, say lawyers at Simpson Thacher.

  • What Prince Harry Privacy Case May Mean For Media Ethics

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    An English High Court recently allowed the privacy case brought by Prince Harry and six other claimants against the Daily Mail publisher to proceed, which, if successful, could embolden other high-profile individuals to bring claims and lead to renewed calls for a judicial public inquiry into British press ethics, says Philippa Dempster at Freeths.

  • Economic Crime Act Exposure: What Companies Can Expect

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    The intention of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act is to make it easier to attribute criminal liability to companies if a senior manager has committed an offense, but the impact on corporate criminal convictions depends on who qualifies as a senior manager and the evidential challenges in showing it, say Hayley Ichilcik and Julius Handler at MoFo.

  • How European Authorities Are Foiling Anti-Competitive Hiring

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    Lawyers at Squire Patton discuss key labor practice antitrust concerns and notable regulation trends in several European countries following recent enforcement actions brought by the European Commission and U.K. Competition and Markets Authority.

  • FCA Promotions Review Sends A Strong Message To Firms

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    The recent FCA review into firms' compliance with the rules on promoting high-risk investments to retail clients clarifies that it expects the letter and the spirit of the rules to be followed, and given the interplay with the consumer duty, there are wider implications at stake, say Marina Reason and Chris Hurn at Herbert Smith.

  • When Can Bonuses Be Clawed Back?

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    The High Court's recent decision in Steel v. Spencer should remind employees that the contractual conditions surrounding bonuses and the timing of any resignation must be carefully considered, as in certain circumstances, bonuses can and are being successfully clawed back by employers, say Merrill April and Rachael Parker at CM Murray.

  • The State Of UK Litigation Funding After Therium Ruling

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    The recent English High Court decision in Therium v. Bugsby Property has provided a glimmer of hope for litigation funders about how courts will interpret this summer's U.K. Supreme Court ruling that called funding agreements impermissible, suggesting that its adverse effects may be mitigated, says Daniel Williams at DWF Law.

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