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Corporate Crime & Compliance UK
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February 07, 2025
Woman In Spy Trial Denies Coordinating Far-Right Sticker Plot
A woman accused of spying for Russia denied at her trial on Friday that she had directed her best friend to deface Jewish and Russian monuments in Austria with far-right symbols to make it look like the work of supporters of Ukraine.
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February 07, 2025
Quantum Computers 'Imminent Threat' To Data, Europol Says
The financial sector faces an "imminent threat" that coded security measures to protect data could be broken by advanced computers and companies must start transitioning to more secure defenses now, a European Union law enforcement agency warned Friday.
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February 07, 2025
FCA Doubles Withdrawals, Changes To Misleading Ads In 2024
The Financial Conduct Authority said Friday its interventions led to authorized businesses withdrawing or amending 19,766 misleading advertisements in 2024 — up from 10,008 the previous year.
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February 07, 2025
Chinese State-Owned Firm Must Sell UK Semiconductor Stake
A London court has rejected a Chinese state-owned investment company's bid for interim relief against an order to sell its stake in a British semiconductor business over national security concerns.
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February 07, 2025
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen Investec Bank PLC sue two diamond tycoons, London florist Nikki Tibbles file a claim against an "imitator company," a direct descendant of the Cartier family launch a claim, and a Coronation Street actor hit footballer Joe Bunney with a defamation claim. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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February 07, 2025
Blowback From Name And Shame Plan Hurts FCA Credibility
An embarrassing rebuke for the City watchdog's controversial proposal to "name and shame" companies under investigation for financial misconduct at an early stage has undermined its regulatory credibility as well as efforts to boost London's competitiveness as a financial center.
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February 06, 2025
Woman In Spy Trial Denies Knowledge Of 'Honey Trap' Plot
A woman accused of spying for Russia told a criminal court Thursday that she did not know that her paymasters intended to use her as a "honey trap" to seduce an investigative journalist and Kremlin critic.
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February 06, 2025
Allianz UK Detects £157M 'Record' Level Of Fraud In 2024
Allianz UK on Thursday said it uncovered a total of £157.24 million ($195.94 million) worth of insurance fraud in 2024 — a 10% year-on-year increase in part driven by the rising cost of living increasing the number of consumers turning to scams.
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February 06, 2025
Visas Driving Migrant Labor Abuse, UK Watchdog Warns
Sponsored visa schemes are the most likely cause of a rise in labor exploitation, the U.K.'s equality watchdog has said in a report to the United Nations.
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February 06, 2025
Stellantis Companies Can't Bring Cartel Claim In England
Maserati and other car manufacturers had their cartel claim against auto parts makers in England struck out by a London court that ruled that issuing the proceedings in the country was a "deliberate litigation strategy" to prove their case.
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February 06, 2025
Wine Biz CFO Fights US Extradition Over Alleged $99M Fraud
A wine company's former chief financial officer accused of cheating investors out of $99 million by persuading them to make interest-bearing loans using valuable wine collections as collateral urged a London judge Thursday to overturn a decision to allow his extradition to the United States.
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February 06, 2025
Mastercard Deal Battle Goes Through The Looking Glass
The landmark class action brought by Walter Merricks against Mastercard has entered "Alice in Wonderland" territory, as the credit card giant is now backing the class representative who sued it in his dispute with his litigation funder over the terms of the controversial settlement, analysts say.
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February 06, 2025
FCA Rejects Complaints On Handling Of Blackmore Collapse
The Financial Conduct Authority said Thursday that it has written to thousands of investors to reject complaints about how it handled the case of Blackmore Bond PLC, a minibonds provider that collapsed in 2021, but has agreed to pay them compensation for its slow response.
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February 05, 2025
FCA Told To Shelve Controversial Investigation Plans
The Financial Conduct Authority should not go ahead with controversial plans to name firms under investigation at an earlier stage unless it can ensure the proposals sufficiently balance increased transparency and managing the potential risks to firms, a House of Lords committee said Thursday.
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February 05, 2025
EU Guidance Clarifies AI Rules, But Key Concepts Lack Detail
Lawyers broadly welcomed the European Commission's belated guidance on newly enforced laws banning so-called artificial intelligence systems that pose an unacceptable risk Wednesday, but are wary of provisions regarding how AI providers should crack down on the prohibited use of their systems.
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February 05, 2025
Naomi Campbell Wins Shot To Fight Charity Trustee Ban
Supermodel Naomi Campbell has been granted permission to challenge a decision by the U.K.'s charity watchdog banning her as a charity trustee after she claimed that her fellow trustee had impersonated her in correspondence with lawyers.
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February 05, 2025
UK Gov't Data Shows Rise In Legal Sector Data Breaches
Data breaches in the U.K. legal sector have increased by more than a third, impacting 7.9 million individuals in the 12 months that ended July 1, 2024, according to an analysis released Wednesday of U.K. Information Commissioner's Office data by document and email management company NetDocuments.
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February 05, 2025
Directors Banned For Misleading Student Housing Investors
The U.K.'s Insolvency Service has banned three men as company directors for misleading investors who had put over £4 million ($5 million) into a student housing development but were left uncompensated when the development companies became insolvent.
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February 05, 2025
EU Sets Out Actions For E-Commerce Import Rules
The European Commission said Wednesday it is raising customs controls on low-value imports flowing into the European Union via online retailers and marketplaces hosting non-European traders.
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February 05, 2025
Insurers Say Stranded Jets Not Covered By War Risks Policies
War-risk insurers argued Wednesday that they should not have to cover losses of aircraft stranded in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine, arguing airlines retaining the aircraft were not covered by the leasing airlines' insurance policy.
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February 05, 2025
Tycoon Can Redo Confiscation Fight After Fraud Conviction
A businessman imprisoned for eight years for failing to repay £4.5 million ($5.6 million) following a conviction for fraud can re-argue his case after the Court of Appeal said Wednesday that there is new evidence he might be serving longer than necessary.
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February 05, 2025
Guarantors Fight To Stay Russian Boat Lessor's $60M Claim
A group of Cypriot businesses that acted as guarantors for a ship financing deal with a Russian state-owned lessor that soured after the country's invasion of Ukraine have asked a London court to stay the Russian businesses' $60 million claims against them.
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February 05, 2025
Construction Industry Insiders Get Prison For £22M Tax Fraud
A group of seven construction industry insiders has been sentenced to between nine years and four months and two years in prison for their roles in a tax fraud in which an estimated £22 million ($28 million) was hidden from the U.K. tax authorities.
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February 04, 2025
Israeli Bids To Block US Extradition Over Prison Conditions
An Israeli private investigator accused of hacking environment activists to help Exxon Mobil Corp. undermine climate-change litigation argued in court Tuesday that his extradition to the U.S. should be blocked due to "inhumane treatment" in New York prisons.
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February 04, 2025
Whistleblowing Failures Cost Gov't £426M, Report Finds
Failing to heed whistleblowers contributed to three major scandals that cost the U.K. government over £426 million ($529 million), a whistleblowing charity said in a report Tuesday as it demanded urgent reforms.
Expert Analysis
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Why Computer Evidence Is Not Always Reliable In Court
Recent challenges to the admissibility of encrypted communication from the messaging tool EncroChat highlight the flawed presumption in the U.K. common law framework that computer evidence is always accurate, and why a nuanced assessment of such evidence is needed, say Sam De Silva and Josie Welland at CMS Legal.
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Comparing The UK And EU Approaches To AI Regulation
While there are significant points of convergence between the recently published U.K. approach to artificial intelligence regulation and the EU AI Act, there is also notable divergence between them, and it appears that the U.K. will remain a less regulatory environment for AI in the foreseeable future, say lawyers at Steptoe.
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Lessons On Using 3rd-Party Disclosure Orders In Fraud Cases
The expansion of the gateway for service out of jurisdiction regarding third-party information orders has proven to be an effective tool against fraud since it was introduced in 2022, and recent case law offers practical tips on what applicants should be aware of when submitting such orders, says Rosie Wild at Cooke Young.
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Compliance Points To Know About The EU Digital Services Act
Online service providers in the European Union should prioritize understanding the scope of the recently implemented Digital Services Act, their specific legal obligations under it and the practical steps they must take to comply with the new law while obeying a raft of overlapping EU digital reforms, say Leo Moore and Róisín Culligan at William Fry.
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Independent Regulator Could Chip Away At FIFA Autonomy
After the U.K.'s recent proposal for an independent football regulator, FIFA's commitment to safeguarding football association autonomy remains unwavering, despite a history of complexities arising from controversies in the bidding and hosting of major tournaments, say Yasin Patel at Church Court Chambers and Caitlin Haberlin-Chambers at SLAM Global.
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A Look At The Latest EU Alternative Investment Regulation
Recent amendments to the EU Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive governing a range of alternative investment funds reflect a growing regulatory focus on nonbanking financial institutions, which expand credit to support economic growth but carry a commensurate risk, say Juliette Mills and Alix Prentice at Cadwalader.
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Unpacking The Law Commission's Digital Assets Consultation
The Law Commission recently published a consultation on recognizing a third personal property category to accommodate the development of digital assets, highlighting difficulties with current models of property rights and the potential consequences of considering digital assets as personal property, say Andrew Tsang and Tom Bacon at BCLP.
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Unpacking The FCA's Approach To AML Compliance Failures
In light of the upward trend of skilled-person reviews by the Financial Conduct Authority, including the latest investigation into Lloyds' anti-money laundering controls, financial firms should familiarize themselves with the mechanisms of FCA supervision and enforcement investigations, says Kathryn Westmore at RUSI.
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New Russia Sanctions Reveal Int'l Enforcement Capabilities
Significant new U.K., U.S. and EU sanctions imposed on Russia notably target Europe-based individuals and entities accused of sanctions evasion, and with an apparent political will to enhance capabilities, the rhetoric is translating into international enforcement activity, say lawyers at Cadwalader.
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Legal Sector Will Benefit From New Data Security Standard
The U.K. Information Commissioner's Office-approved new privacy certification scheme for the legal profession will inevitably become the default for law firms, chambers and vendors to prove their U.K. General Data Protection Regulation compliance, says Orlagh Kelly at Briefed.
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Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents
Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.
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EU Inquiry Offers First Insight Into Foreign Subsidy Law
The European Commission's first in-depth investigation under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation into a public procurement process, and subsequent brief on regulatory trends, sheds light on the commission's approach to such cases, as well as jurisdictional, procedural and substantive issues under the regulation, says Matthew Hall at McGuireWoods.
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Opinion
PACCAR Should Be 1st Step To Regulating Litigation Funders
Rather than reversing the U.K. Supreme Court's well-reasoned judgment in PACCAR v. Competition Appeal Tribunal, imposing a regulatory regime on litigation funders in parity with that of lawyers, legislators should build upon it to create a more transparent, competitive and fairer funding industry, says Rosa Curling at Foxglove.
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EEA Equivalence Statement Is Welcomed By Fund Managers
The recent statement confirming European Economic Area equivalence to undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities for U.K. overseas funds regime purposes removes many managers’ concerns in the wake of Brexit, giving a clear pathway out of temporary marketing permissions and easing the transition from one regime to another, says Catherine Weeks at Simmons & Simmons.
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In Int'l Arbitration Agreements, Be Clear About Governing Law
A trilogy of recent cases in the English High Court and Court of Appeal highlight the importance of parties agreeing to explicit choice of law language at the outset of an arbitration agreement in order to avoid costly legal skirmishes down the road, say lawyers at Faegre Drinker.