Ex-Goldman Banker Must Pay Back £400K Legal Aid Funding

By William Janes

A former Goldman Sachs banker must repay almost £400,000 ($534,000) in legal aid funding after being sentenced for contempt of court, an appeals court ruled on Friday as it rejected his case that the recovery regime caused inconsistent results.

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Retailer Biz Can't Block UniCredit's €42M Russian Asset Fight

By Sophia Dourou

A retail outlet owner can't block Russian proceedings by AO UniCredit aimed at taking some of the retailer's approximately €42 million ($50 million) property portfolio, as an appeals court ruled Friday that the bank did not breach an agreement to arbitrate.

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BoE To Keep Watch On Finance Firms' Safe AI Use This Year

By Alex Davidson

The Bank of England's regulatory arm committed Friday to monitoring finance companies' use of artificial intelligence as a priority to safeguard financial stability in its 2026-2027 business plan.

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Brief

Deutsche Bank Reports Potential Russia Sanctions Lapses

By Tom Fish

Deutsche Bank said Friday it has reported itself to financial regulators over unspecified potential breaches of European Union sanctions rules involving Russian clients.

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Businessman Denies Duping Council In £150M Solar Deal Row

By Eddie Beaver

A businessman has denied owing an effectively bankrupt local English council more than £150 million ($204 million) over a series of failed investments that he allegedly misrepresented and siphoned off for his personal spending, arguing that he never deceived the authority.

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Brexit Backer Owes Inheritance Tax On Donations, Court Says

By Kevin Pinner

A former hedge fund manager who donated about £750,000 ($1 million) to political groups that mostly advocated for Brexit isn't exempt from about £100,000 of inheritance tax on his donations, the First-tier Tribunal said in a judgment.

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Roundup

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Laura Stewart Liberty

The past week in London has seen Aston Martin file an appeal in a row with Chinese carmaker Geely over its winged logo for London black cabs, Ineos sue Ben Ainslie's America's Cup team for a £180 million ($244 million) boat, White & Case face a claim from two energy storage companies, and a golf tour company bring a claim against Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund after the fund invested in its rival.

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Gov't Defends Power To Shift UK Pensions To Private Assets

By Martin Croucher

The government has successfully reinstated controversial new powers into draft legislation that would allow it to compel pension funds to put money into U.K. investments.

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EU AML Body Seeks Baseline Rules For Firms' Risk Reviews

By Eddie Beaver

The European Union's financial crime watchdog has proposed fresh requirements on how companies should review their money laundering and terrorist financing risks, saying that business-wide assessments should at a minimum set out a clear overview of their legal and operational structure.

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Macquarie Selling Romanian Grid Network For About $825M

By Al Barbarino

Premier Energy Group said Friday it has agreed to acquire Romania-based electricity distributor Distributie Energie Oltenia, or DEO, from funds managed by Australia's Macquarie Asset Management for about €700 million ($825 million).

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CMA's 5-Point Plan Signals Shift In Enforcement Priorities

The Competition and Markets Authority’s recently published annual plan is notable for a strong shift toward prioritizing U.K. enforcement of consumer protection laws, encouraging innovation and policing public procurement markets for anticompetitive conduct, which contrasts with previous plans that focused on competition in digital markets, complex merger review and sustainability, say lawyers at Cooley.

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