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Financial Services UK
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May 13, 2024
Gov't Tells Finance, Law Watchdogs To Improve AML Reports
HM Treasury and Britain's anti-money laundering watchdog have told professional bodies in sectors including law and accounting to sharpen the focus in their annual reports on failures in compliance and supervisory actions.
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May 13, 2024
Demand Grows For Cross-Border Pensions In Unstable States
Cross-border pension and saving plans have more than doubled in just five years, with much of the growth in schemes covering employees in unstable countries, according to a survey published Monday.
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May 10, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
The past week in London has seen Playtech file an intellectual property claim against online casino company OnAir Entertainment amid allegations of corporate spying, a broadcast equipment company sue its former owner amid allegations he conspired to inflate a customer’s finances, and aerospace company Vertical Aerospace hit a manufacturer with a claim following a test flight crash. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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May 10, 2024
Commerzbank Analyst To Pay £20K After False Allegations
A financial analyst has lost all his claims of harassment, sexual harassment, victimization and race discrimination at the hands of Commzerbank, as the Employment Tribunal found that some allegations were "pure inventions" and ordered him to hand over £20,000 ($25,000).
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May 10, 2024
Costs Of Pension Portals Rise £54M Over Launch Delays
The cost of building new online pensions dashboards has risen by £54 million ($67.6 million) in three years as the project has faced delays due to poor governance, a damning report by the public sector audit watchdog said on Friday.
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May 10, 2024
Ex-Plastics Co. Manager Spared Prison For Insider Dealing
A London judge gave a former manager at a plastics company an 18-month suspended prison sentence on Friday for insider dealing in connection with the £261 million ($327 million) purchase of a rival company.
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May 10, 2024
Financial Co. Sues Tende Energy For $5M Over Loan Deal Fee
Cayman Islands financial services company Omega Financial Corporation has sued energy developer Tende Energy for $5 million (£4 million), alleging it is owed the debt from its deal to transfer to Tende its rights to a loan with an oil and gas exploration company.
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May 10, 2024
Director Imprisoned For Deceiving FCA In £1.2M Fraud Probe
A business director was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Friday for providing a forged document to investigators in a fruitless attempt to prop up the defense of self-styled investment brokers now convicted of a £1.2 million ($1.5 million) boiler room fraud.
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May 10, 2024
FCA Warns Firms Of Market Abuse Surveillance Failings
The Financial Conduct Authority has warned in its latest market watch newsletter that some companies have inadequate or faulty systems to detect market abuse, with insufficient governance arrangements.
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May 10, 2024
MPs Mull Using Frozen Russian Assets For Ukraine Recovery
Politicians are to probe leading experts, including the head of financial crime and compliance at Lloyd's of London, on whether the U.K. should follow the European Union and use profits from Russia's frozen assets to help Ukraine, as they examine the sanctions regime.
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May 09, 2024
Ex-Goldman Banker Fights To Overturn Contempt Ruling
A former Goldman Sachs banker urged a London appellate court panel Thursday to overturn a ruling that he had breached court orders to hand over information about the financial assets of the wife of an imprisoned Turkish politician.
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May 09, 2024
Royal Bank Of Canada Beats Analyst's Bullying Claim
The Royal Bank of Canada convinced an employment tribunal to toss discrimination claims from a former employee because he filed his action too late.
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May 09, 2024
Ex-Goldman Banker Fights US Extradition On Bribery Charges
A former Goldman Sachs banker wanted in the U.S. for allegedly bribing Ghanaian officials fought the decision by the U.K. to extradite him on Thursday, arguing that the alleged offense took place in London when he was an employee of the investment bank.
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May 09, 2024
Construction Giant Cimolai Settles €10.6M Forex Dispute
Italian construction giant Cimolai has settled a €10.6 million ($11.4 million) claim from Ebury Partners over foreign exchange contracts that the steel pipe manufacturer signed in 2022.
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May 09, 2024
Aviva Takes On Construction Co. Pension Scheme In Full
Insurance giant Aviva has secured the benefits of all uninsured final salary members of a pension plan sponsored by a British construction group in a deal guided by CMS.
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May 09, 2024
Watchdog Preps Rules For Banks To Repay High-Value Fraud
The payments watchdog has set out plans to extend its fraud reimbursement scheme to high-value bank transfers through the CHAPS system, reducing the risk that fraudsters will move there to avoid detection.
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May 09, 2024
BBVA €12B Offer For TSB Owner Sabadell Turns Hostile
Spanish banking giant BBVA launched a hostile takeover of Banco de Sabadell on Thursday, approaching shareholders directly with a €12 billion ($12.8 billion) all-share deal after being rebuffed by the rival bank's board.
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May 08, 2024
EGC Won't Annul EU Decision To Toss Spanish Tax Scheme
The European General Court will not annul a European Commission decision that a Spanish tax scheme for vessels built in its domestic shipyards must be abandoned because it was incompatible with the European Union's internal market, according to a judgment released Wednesday.
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May 08, 2024
FCA Mulls 'Enforcement Watch' As Naming Alternative
The Financial Conduct Authority's top executives on Wednesday vigorously defended its plans to name firms under investigation, but saw value in a potential alternative move to publish an "enforcement watch" newsletter giving an overview.
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May 15, 2024
Squire Patton Hires Partner Trio As UK Expansion Continues
Squire Patton Boggs LLP said Wednesday that it has hired three partners in Birmingham and London in a move to boost its offerings in litigation; leveraged finance; and environmental, social and governance.
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May 08, 2024
StanChart Bids To Toss Investors' Sanctions Claim On Appeal
Standard Chartered PLC urged an appeals court Wednesday to toss accusations from investors that it had downplayed the extent to which it had breached U.S. sanctions against Iran by hundreds of billions of dollars, saying they have insufficient evidence to support them.
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May 08, 2024
Reed Smith's $13M Ask May Breach Sanctions, Barclays Says
Barclays has told a London court that it rightfully refused to transfer approximately $13 million back to a sanctioned shipping company at Reed Smith LLP's request after a collapsed tanker deal, arguing that it declined so it could avoid violating sanctions.
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May 08, 2024
Insurer Claims 400 Pension Deals Penned In 12 Years
Insurer Just Group said Wednesday it has completed 400 pension transfer deals since it launched in 2012, adding that the year ahead is poised to break more records in the retirement savings de-risking market.
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May 08, 2024
Three Men Plead Not Guilty In £4M Water Investment Fraud
Three men pleaded not guilty on Wednesday at a London court to defrauding investors out of £3.9 million ($4.9 million) through an unregulated investment scheme promising to build water production plants in Australia, New Zealand and Africa.
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May 08, 2024
Advertisers Fight For Class Action In Google Antitrust Case
A group of advertisers fought for a green light for their class action against Google owner Alphabet on Wednesday, arguing that their case meets the requirements for a class proceedings order because there are serious issues of abuse of market dominance to be tried.
Expert Analysis
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Foreign Assets Ruling Suggests New Tax Avoidance Approach
The U.K. Supreme Court's recent ruling in His Majesty's Revenue & Customs v. Fisher, which found that the scope of the transfer of foreign assets is narrow, highlights that the days of rampant tax avoidance have been left behind, and that the need for wide-ranging and uncertain tax legislation is lessening, says James Austen at Collyer Bristow.
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Lessons To Be Learned From 2023's Bank Failures
This year’s banking collapses, coupled with interest rate rises, inflation and geopolitical instability have highlighted the need for more robust governance, and banks and regulators have learned that they must adequately monitor and control liquidity risk to protect against another financial crisis, say Juliette Mills and Alix Prentice at Cadwalader.
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An Overview Of European Private Investments in Public Equity
Although still fairly rare, private investments in public equity may continue to be an attractive option for some European issuers seeking to secure equity financing, and advisers planning such an investment should consider the various local options, requirements and norms, say lawyers at Sullivan & Cromwell.
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Cos. Must Monitor Sanctions Regime As Law Remains Unclear
While recent U.K. government guidance and an English High Court's decision in Litasco v. Der Mond Oil, finding that a company is sanctioned when a designated individual is exercising control over it, both address sanctions control issues, disarray in the law remains, highlighting that practitioners should keep reviewing their exposure to the sanctions regime, say lawyers at K&L Gates.
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Unpacking The UK's Proposals To Regulate Crypto-Assets
Recent proposals for crypto-asset regulation in the U.K. demonstrate support for crypto's potential, but there is concern around the authorization process for organizations undertaking crypto-asset activities, and new regulations will require a more detailed assessment of firms' compliance not previously addressed, say Jessica Lee and Menelaos Karampetsos at Brown Rudnick.
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The Top 7 Global ESG Litigation Trends In 2023
To date, ESG litigation across the world can largely be divided into seven forms, but these patterns will continue developing, including a rise in cases against private and state actors, a more complex regulatory environment affecting multinational companies, and an increase in nongovernmental organization activity, say Sophie Lamb and Aleksandra Dulska at Latham.
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UK Takeover Code Changes: Key Points For Bidders, Targets
Newly effective amendments to Rule 21 of the U.K. Takeover Code, which remove legal and administrative constraints on a target operating its business in the ordinary way during an offer, will add clarity for targets and bidders, and are likely to be welcomed by both, say lawyers at Davis Polk.
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Russia Ruling Shows UK's Robust Jurisdiction Approach
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.
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How New Loan Origination Regime Will Affect Fund Managers
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.
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How EU Sustainability Directive Will Improve Co. Reporting
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.
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PPI Ruling Spells Trouble For Financial Services Firms
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.
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What Lawyers Can Learn From FDI Screening Report Findings
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.
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UK Review May Lead To Lower Investment Screening Burden
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.
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Economic Crime Act Exposure: What Companies Can Expect
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.
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FCA Promotions Review Sends A Strong Message To Firms
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.