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Financial Services UK
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April 03, 2024
Alleged Water Investment Fraudsters Appear In Court
Three men who allegedly defrauded investors out of £3.9 million ($4.9 million) through an unregulated water investment scheme appeared at a London criminal court Wednesday.
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April 02, 2024
Ex-Autonomy Exec Denies He Blew Whistle To Deflect Scandal
Autonomy's former U.S. chief financial officer denied under cross-examination Tuesday in the California criminal fraud trial of ex-CEO Michael Lynch that he brought whistleblower concerns about alleged accounting irregularities to the software company's Deloitte auditors to "cover" himself after a payroll scandal emerged in his department.
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April 02, 2024
Feds Seek Leniency For UK Billionaire Lewis In Trading Case
Prosecutors have told a Manhattan federal judge that 87-year-old British billionaire Joe Lewis should serve less than 18 months in prison after he pled guilty to insider trading, citing his age and health and arguing he "has otherwise lived a law-abiding life."
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April 02, 2024
UK Reaches Landmark AI Risk Testing Agreement With US
The U.K. government said Tuesday it had reached a landmark agreement with the U.S. to share the testing of advanced models for artificial intelligence, after highlighting in a report its increasing use by cybercriminals to attack financial institutions and business.
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April 02, 2024
Accountant Fined And Banned For Triple Loan Fraud
The former director of a management consultancy has been banned from running a company for 12 years and agreed to pay back £75,000 ($94,000) after having claimed five times the amount his firm was entitled to under a government-backed COVID-19 loan program, the U.K. Insolvency Service said Tuesday.
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April 02, 2024
Luxembourg's Deduction Rules Flout EU Law, Bloc Tells Court
The European Commission asked the European Union's Court of Justice to rule that Luxembourg is breaking EU law by including securitized entities among financial undertakings that are allowed deductibility of interest payments, the EU's Official Journal said Tuesday.
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April 02, 2024
Cost Of COVID Fraud Crackdown Leaves Authorities In A Bind
As British authorities dial back their worst fears about the scale of fraud linked to COVID-19 relief loans, legal experts say the initial crackdown to prosecute rogue directors has faltered as the costs start to outweigh the benefits.
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April 02, 2024
UK Makes 2027 Commitment To 1-Day Securities Settlement
HM Treasury has said that Britain will start a one-day cycle for securities trade settlement by December 2027, bringing the country into harmony with other markets to reduce the risk that those involved will fail to meet their obligations.
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April 02, 2024
Small UK Cos. 'Freed' From VAT Payments By Threshold Rise
Some 28,000 businesses have been "freed" from paying value-added tax as the registration threshold rose from £85,000 ($106,000) to £90,000 in revenue, HM Treasury has said.
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April 02, 2024
Insurers Say Pension Models Could Undercut Auto-Enrollment
Government plans to introduce new pension pot models risk undermining the success of automatic enrollment and could have a negative impact on retirement saver outcomes, the Association of British Insurers has warned.
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April 02, 2024
UBS To Launch $2B Buyback After Credit Suisse Deal Closes
UBS said Tuesday that it will launch a share buyback program to return up to $2 billion to shareholders as the Swiss lender prepares to kickstart its capital returns after its takeover of Credit Suisse AG is finalized in June.
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April 01, 2024
Autonomy Paid Whistleblower $750K Over Firing, Jury Told
Autonomy's former U.S. chief financial officer testified Monday in the California criminal fraud trial of ex-CEO Michael Lynch that he was fired after blowing the whistle to British regulators about accounting irregularities, and revealed that Autonomy later paid him $750,000 to resolve his wrongful termination claims.
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March 28, 2024
Feds Say Ex-OneCoin Atty Should Serve 'Substantial' Time
Manhattan federal prosecutors have requested a "substantial" amount of prison time for a Bulgarian woman who worked on the legal team at the fraudulent OneCoin cryptocurrency exchange, but said the sentence should fall below the guidelines range of 10 years.
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March 28, 2024
Ex-Plastics Co. Manager Found Guilty Of Insider Dealing
A former manager at a plastics company was found guilty of insider dealing on Thursday by a London jury, but his friend was acquitted of similar charges in connection with the £261 million ($329 million) purchase of a rival company.
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March 28, 2024
Insurers Must Face £13B Russia-Stranded Planes Suits In UK
Major insurers including Allianz, AXA and Liberty Mutual will have to face £13 billion ($16.4 billion) worth of claims over planes stranded in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine as a London judge on Thursday ruled against attempts to move the claims to Moscow.
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March 28, 2024
Developer Says Law Firm Flubbed FOS Appeal
A property developer is suing its former lawyers for just over £700,000 ($883,500) for negligence after the firm allegedly failed to file a complaint against a now-infamous turnaround unit of the Royal Bank of Scotland when its investments turned sour in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.
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March 28, 2024
Traders' Loss Raises High Bar For Bankers To Clear Names
The failure of two former traders to overturn their rate-rigging convictions could mark the end of the road for others convicted in connection with the scandal because of the reluctance of the English courts to topple precedent, lawyers say.
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March 28, 2024
EU Watchdogs To Relax On OTC Derivative Clearing Breaches
The European Union's securities regulator has said it expects national regulators not to prioritize supervisory action against banks or insurers that fail to clear some over-the-counter derivatives with foreign pension schemes, ahead of legal exemption.
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March 28, 2024
NCA Logs 5% Decline In Suspicious Activity Reports Last Year
The National Crime Agency reported Thursday a 5% decline in reports about potential criminal activities such as suspected money laundering and terrorist financing to its intelligence unit received during the financial year that ended March 2023.
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March 28, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen investors target fraudsters who ran a fake film tax scheme, Barclays Bank sue privately owned Russian bank PJSC Sovcombank, easyGroup bring a trademark infringement claim against online casino TGI Entertainment for its "easybet" word sign, and a bioethanol fuel company hit high-profile individuals connected to the collapsed Elysian Fuels scheme. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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March 28, 2024
UK Signs Accounting Standards Deal With Australia
Britain's audit watchdog said Thursday it has secured a deal on accounting standards with Australian authorities to make it easier for auditors to work between both countries.
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March 28, 2024
Investors Told To Show Standing For £1.4B StanChart Claim
A London judge on Thursday ordered part of a group of investors suing Standard Chartered PLC for £1.4 billion ($1.7 billion) — for allegedly downplaying how much it had breached U.S. sanctions — to prove they are entitled to bring the claim.
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March 28, 2024
Crowe Denies £5M Negligence Claim Over Audits Of Wine Co.
A London-based accounting firm has hit back against a £5 million ($6.3 million) negligence claim by the liquidators of a failed wine investment company, saying it acted with the "care and skill" of a "reasonably competent" auditor.
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March 28, 2024
Struggling Lender Amigo Raises Cash, Eyes Reverse Takeover
Amigo Holdings PLC said on Thursday that it has raised cash and is looking for a reverse takeover target so that it can continue operating as a listed company, amid the planned liquidation of its troubled subprime lending arm.
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March 28, 2024
Abrdn Property Plans Wind-Down After Merger Rejected
Abrdn Property Income Trust Ltd. has said it is planning a managed wind-down after its shareholders voted against an all-share merger with Custodian Property Income REIT PLC that valued it at £237 million ($299 million).
Expert Analysis
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A Case For The Green Investment Regime Under The ECT
The EU and U.K.'s potential plans to exit the Energy Charter Treaty, which has been criticized as protecting fossil fuel investments to the detriment of energy transition, ignore the significant strides taken to modernize the treaty and its ability to promote investment in cleaner energy forms, say Amy Frey and Simon Maynard at King & Spalding.
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Considerations For Fund Managers Seeking Retail Investment
With recent legal developments, including a revised Long Term Investment Funds Regulation effective in 2024, supporting the market trend of retailization, there are several practical considerations for alternative fund managers embarking on a European fundraise for retail capital, say Zac Mellor-Clark and Kate Downey at Fried Frank.
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FDI Considerations For UK Venture Capital Transactions
With the U.K. National Security and Investment Act highlighting foreign direct investment matters for venture capital transactions, investors dealing with companies connected to the U.K. should be alive to how the act's requirements can affect deal timelines, structures and terms, say lawyers at Covington.
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How Employers Can Support Neurodiversity In The Workplace
A recent run of cases emphasize employers' duties to make reasonable adjustments for neurodiverse employees under the Equalities Act, illustrating the importance of investing in staff education and listening to neurodivergent workers to improve recruitment, retention and productivity in the workplace, say Anna Henderson and Tim Leaver at Herbert Smith.
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What The Anti-Coercion Instrument Will Bring To The EU
Vassilis Akritidis and Jean-Baptiste Blancardi at Crowell & Moring discuss why the European Union recently adopted a report on the anti-coercion instrument to reform its trade legislation, how the instrument will be used to respond to unfair economic pressure from third countries, and how businesses can impact the EU's decision making.
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Why FCA Crypto Rules Need To Align With UK Gov't Aims
There is a critical need for cryptocurrency regulations that protect consumers while supporting the government's aim to make the U.K. a crypto hub, but the Financial Conduct Authority’s recently effective rules on financial promotion of crypto-assets bring an unintended risk that legitimate firms will be driven out of the market, says Laura Navarathnam at the Crypto Council for Innovation.
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CMA Report On AI May Lead to Greater Competition Control
The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority’s recent report on artificial intelligence foundation models is a sign that developers could face increased merger control and antitrust enforcement, and businesses should be mindful of these views to ensure that their models do not come under investigation, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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UK Mozambique Ruling Will Have Int'l Ramifications
The recent U.K. Supreme Court judgment in Mozambique v. Privinvest considered for the first time stay proceedings under the Arbitration Act, offering guidance on whether claims are a "matter" within the scope of an arbitration clause, which could become a point of reference for foreign courts in the future, say lawyers at Herbert Smith.
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Recent Trends In European ESG-Related Shareholder Activism
New ESG reporting standards in the European Union, as well as recent climate change, board diversity and human rights cases, illustrate how shareholder activism may become more prominent in years to come as regulation and investor engagement continues to strengthen, say lawyers at Debevoise.
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Audit Regulator Review Has Tips On Climate Metric Reporting
The U.K. Financial Reporting Council’s recent review of climate-related metrics and targets in listed companies’ annual reports is an extremely useful guide for issuers considering the quality of their disclosure reporting, with a number of key areas identified as central to further improvement, say lawyers at Bryan Cave.
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What Russia Case Reveals About UK Sanctions Enforcement
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation recently issued its first enforcement action under the U.K.'s expanded Russia sanctions against a relatively small company for a moderately severe breach — a decision that highlights several questions about the watchdog’s purpose and methods, say Maia Cohen-Lask and Tasha Benkhadra at Corker Binning.
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Breaking Down The UK's Draft Updates To Prospectus Regime
While there still may be changes, the U.K.'s near-final draft statutory instrument to update and in some parts replace the current on-shored EU prospectus regime is likely to represent a significant overhaul of the existing regime and may make U.K. capital markets a more attractive venue for listings for issuers, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Italy's Bank-Profits Tax Plan May Become Model For Eurozone
If Italy's recently proposed 40% bank-profits tax helps keep its populist coalition government in power, notwithstanding the European Central Bank's legal challenges, the passage could spark a windfall tax trend across the eurozone and even in the U.K., says Cris Cicala at Stinson.
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Bitcoin Case Highlights Advanced Age Of UK's IP Law
An appellate court's recent decision in a case involving the copyright of bitcoin's file format emphasizes the role of copyright protection in software, and also the challenges of applying decades-old laws to new technologies, say Marianna Foerg and Ben Bell at Potter Clarkson.
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Accountability Is Key To Preventing Miscarriages Of Justice
The wrongful conviction of Andrew Malkinson and other recent cases show that in order to avoid future miscarriages of justice, there needs to be a fundamental reevaluation of how investigators, prosecutors and the Criminal Cases Review Commission operate, prioritizing stronger penalties and increased funding, say Thomas Walford at Expert Evidence International and policy analyst Gerald Frost.