Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Financial Services UK
-
June 24, 2024
Businessman Sentenced For Disclosure Failings In Fraud Suit
A real estate investor was given a suspended sentence by a London judge Monday for failing to hand over information about his financial assets to investors suing him for alleged fraud, despite a court order.
-
June 24, 2024
Ex-Luminance CEO Joins The Barrister Group As COO
The Barrister Group, which serves clients in England and Wales, announced on Monday the appointment of a chief operating officer with experience leading legal artificial intelligence co-pilot Luminance Technologies Ltd.
-
June 24, 2024
BHS Asks For £133M In Damages From Former Director
Liquidators for now-defunct retail chain British Home Stores argued Monday that one of the company's former directors owes it £133.5 million ($169.2 million), maintaining that the court should calculate damages from the day he was found to have agreed to a loan that was not in the interests of shareholders and not likely to save the business.
-
June 24, 2024
German Banker's Cum-Ex Trial Dropped Due To Health
The former chairman of M.M. Warburg & Co. KGaA will not face trial for alleged dividend-tax evasion linked to cum-ex transactions spanning from 2006 to 2019 after a German court halted the trial due to his health, according to a Monday court statement.
-
June 24, 2024
Ex-Chief Of EU Lender Probed Over Corruption Allegations
Werner Hoyer, the former head of the European Union's lending arm, is being investigated by the bloc's public prosecutor over corruption, abuse of influence and misappropriation allegations that he said on Monday were "unfounded and baseless."
-
June 24, 2024
Dentons' Inadvertent AML Error Wasn't SRA Misconduct
Dentons' U.K. arm failed in handling anti-money laundering checks on a politically exposed former client, but its oversight was entirely inadvertent and therefore did not amount to professional misconduct, a London tribunal has ruled.
-
June 24, 2024
Herbert Smith Launches ESG Regulations Monitoring Tool
Herbert Smith Freehills LLP on Monday launched a tool designed to help businesses stay up to date with the evolving landscape of environmental, social and governance regulations and reporting requirements.
-
June 24, 2024
CEO Can Sue Nickel Mining Co. In UK Over 'Ambiguous' Firing
An employment tribunal has ruled that the former CEO of a Zambian mining company can pursue his unfair dismissal claim in the U.K. after concluding that his contract was subject to English law.
-
June 24, 2024
UAE Fund Can't Shake Asset Freeze As Mogul Chases £20M
A London court agreed on Monday to continue a worldwide asset freezing order against a UAE sovereign wealth fund to allow an aviation tycoon to attempt to recover more than £20 million ($25.4 million) after a fraud allegedly assisted by a Dechert LLP partner.
-
June 24, 2024
Charity Urges Better Ways To Fight Investment Greenwashing
A legal environmental charity on Monday called for stronger measures to address the practice of misrepresenting financial products as environmentally friendly when they do not meet the necessary sustainability criteria.
-
June 24, 2024
Prudential Launches First Tranche Of $2B Buyback Program
Insurer and asset manager Prudential PLC has commenced an initial $700 million share buyback program, the first phase of a wider up to $2 billion repurchase scheme, advised by Slaughter and May.
-
June 24, 2024
FCA Takes Action Against 3 Fund Mngrs On Risky Investments
The financial watchdog said Monday that it has decided to ban and fine three individuals who ran fund manager SVS Securities PLC after it invested clients' pension money into high-risk bonds that have defaulted, threatening their retirement security.
-
June 24, 2024
CMS-Led Aareal Bank To Sell Unit To TPG For €3.9B
German lender Aareal Bank AG and investment company Advent International said Monday that they have agreed to sell a property management and maintenance software company to U.S. private equity firm TPG and Canada's CDPQ for approximately €3.9 billion ($4.2 billion).
-
June 21, 2024
UK Tax Fraud Cases Rose 49% Over One-Year Period
The U.K. tax authority launched more criminal cases for tax fraud for the year ended June 30, 2023, increasing 49% from 63 cases for the previous year to 94, Pinsent Masons LLP said Monday.
-
June 21, 2024
Russian Bank Founder Hit With Asset Freeze In $850M Claim
A London judge froze the assets of the co-founder of a Russian bank in a hearing Friday, in the latest development of an $850 million fraud claim in which two Russian lenders are seeking to claw back allegedly embezzled funds.
-
June 21, 2024
OECD Official Sees Amount B Deal Helping With Amount A
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is close to a final deal on a key part of its efforts to establish new international taxing rights under Amounts A and B of its Pillar One plans, according to the organization's tax chief.
-
June 21, 2024
Austrian Bank Beats Challenge To 'Easybank' TM
Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo lost its challenge to an Austrian bank's "easybank" trademark, after the Austrian bank persuaded the European Union's intellectual property office that it had put its direct banking brand to good use.
-
June 21, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen JD Wetherspoon sue a Welsh pub over its name in the Intellectual Property Court, ex-professional boxer Amir Khan and his wife file libel action against an influencer, the Performing Right Society hit with a competition claim over music licensing, and Manolete Partners bring action against the directors of a bust investment firm. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
-
June 21, 2024
European Funds Want Laxer Rules On Derivatives Calls
A European investment fund industry trade body has called for a reduction in proposed global rules to manage calls for extra money supporting derivatives positions intended to reduce the risk of a market crisis.
-
June 21, 2024
Axiom Stays £65M Action As Directors Claim Bankruptcy
A London judge ruled on Friday that shuttered firm Axiom Ince can stay its almost £65 million ($82 million) claim against its ex-director and several of his companies for allegedly misappropriating client funds, saying the main defendant has been declared bankrupt.
-
June 20, 2024
Pensioners Still Taxed With 'Triple Lock Plus,' LCP Says
The ruling Conservative Party's pledge to add a tax break to the anti-inflation "triple lock" on pensions would still mean that 2.5 million U.K. pensioners will be taxed, consultancy Lane Clark & Peacock LLP said Thursday.
-
June 20, 2024
WTW Says Professional Trustee Appointments Up 11%
Professional trustee appointments have surged by 11% over the past year, with corporate sole trustee appointments rising at 14%, according to WTW's 2024 professional trustee survey published Thursday.
-
June 20, 2024
Mastercard Settles Retailers' Swipe Fees Group Litigation
Mastercard has settled a class action claim brought by more than 1,900 businesses in ongoing litigation over allegations it imposed excessively high credit card fees on merchants, a person familiar with the case has confirmed.
-
June 20, 2024
Aegon Plans ESG Shakeup Of £12B Workplace Pension Fund
Pensions provider Aegon on Thursday announced a raft of measures to overhaul its £12 billion ($15.2 billion) workplace retirement fund, as it plots to reduce its carbon emissions and invest more in unlisted assets.
-
June 20, 2024
Financial Watchdog Launches First-Ever ESG Probe Into Biz
The Financial Conduct Authority has opened its first-ever enforcement investigation into a company over climate-related issues, lawyers from an environmental legal campaign group said on Thursday.
Expert Analysis
-
A Review Of The EU FDI Screening Regulation And Its Scope
The EU advocate general’s recent broad interpretation of the EU Foreign Direct Investment Screening Regulation takes account of some of the geopolitical challenges faced by the bloc, and may foreshadow a revision of the regulation and widen the scope of investments screened, say Vassilis Akritidis and Jean-Baptiste Blancardi at Crowell & Moring.
-
Key Takeaways From EU Proposal For Greenwashing Rules
If the proposal for a Green Claims Directive, with its enhanced rules on claims about a product or trader's environmental impact, is adopted, it will affect all businesses selling their products in the EU and bring major changes to the way those products are packaged and advertised, say attorneys at Shearman.
-
How EU ESG Regs Affect US Financial Market Participants
The European Commission recently confirmed that the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation applies to all funds marketed in the EU, so affected U.S. financial market participants will need to consider the new guidance on principal adverse impacts, sustainable investments and promotion of carbon emissions reductions, say attorneys at Debevoise.
-
UK Plan For AI Rules Raises Compliance Questions For Cos.
The U.K. government's proposal for a new, clear and pro-innovation regulatory framework on artificial intelligence diverges from the European Union's approach, which may create incoherence and compliance burdens for businesses operating in both jurisdictions, says attorneys at Akin Gump.
-
UK Investment Screening Inches Closer To US Regime
The recent agreement between the U.K. Cabinet Office and House of Commons concerning parliamentary scrutiny of the Investment Security Unit represents a step toward greater transparency of intervention in investments that may raise national security concerns, and underscores increasing alignment with the U.S. regime, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.
-
UK Ruling May Affect 3rd-Party Fraud Liability Post-Insolvency
While the recent Court of Appeal decision in Tradition Financial Services v. Bilta could make Section 213 of the Insolvency Act a powerful tool for liquidators, it also heightens the risk of companies tangentially involved in fraud being subject to claims following insolvency, say attorneys at Dechert.
-
5 Ways For A Legal Practice To Close Technology Gaps
With technology a driving force for success, the U.K. legal sector must embrace innovation to maintain its competitive edge, and investing in new processes is no longer optional, says Gareth Preece at Doherty Associates.
-
UK Ruling Offers Useful Guidance To Insolvency Practitioners
The recent U.K. High Court ruling in a matter involving Sova Capital represents the first unsecured credit bid to be approved by an English court, demonstrating a pragmatic approach to complex sanctions-related administrations and identifying a novel solution for insolvency practitioners to maximize value for the benefit of creditors, say attorneys at Katten.
-
The FCA's Timely Plan To Reform Asset Management Regime
The discussion paper recently issued by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority finally addresses how, in the future, asset management regulation will work in totality from an investor, manager and distributor perspective, and its review of the purpose and balance of the regime is welcomed, says Tim Dolan at Greenberg Traurig.
-
UK's Draft Fraud Offense And How It May Affect Companies
The new U.K. corporate criminal offense of "failing to prevent fraud," recently published in draft form, will make it easier for prosecutions to be brought against companies, with no need to show that the "directing mind and will" of a company were involved in the fraud, say attorneys at Allen & Overy.
-
Questions Raised By UK Plan For ESG Ratings Providers
HM Treasury is taking steps toward regulating environmental, social and corporate governance ratings providers, aiming to ensure adequate protection for U.K. users and level the playing field, but the potential new regime risks imposing undue regulatory burden and overlapping requirements on U.K. and overseas firms, say Ferdisha Snagg and Andreas Wildner at Cleary.
-
Why The Royal Mint Failed To Launch An NFT
Without a clear objective it is unsurprising that The Royal Mint’s attempt to launch a nonfungible token ended with a whimper rather than bang, says Dion Seymour at Andersen.
-
Review Of Senior Managers Regime Provides Useful Insight
Although the recently launched review of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime suggests a remodel rather than wholesale change, the topics raised illustrate the mindset of the three key stakeholders in the U.K. financial services sector, say Richard Burger and Katy O’Connor at WilmerHale.
-
Highlights Of The UK's New Economic Crime Plan
With the direction of the U.K. government’s newly launched second economic crime plan undeniably altered by the recent focus on kleptocrats and their money, the emphasis is now on how the U.K. can deliver a more effective approach to reducing the threat of economic crime, says Kathryn Westmore at the Royal United Services Institute.
-
Fresh View Ruling Offers Clarity On Forfeiture Orders
The pragmatic focus on property rather than the defendants’ wrongdoing in Fresh View v. Westminster Magistrates' Court will be welcomed by enforcement authorities, although the low bar where mere knowledge or suspicion of unlawful conduct may be sufficient for forfeiture could be of concern to innocent recipients, says Joseph Sinclair at Mountford Chambers.