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Corporate Crime & Compliance UK

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Sprenger Follows The Puck To New Boutique Dream Team

White collar veteran Polly Sprenger explained her decision to join the new London office of U.S. firm Michelman & Robinson with Wayne Gretzky's famed follow-the-puck mantra. Here she talks to Law360 about seeking out a different way of working, what clients actually need and why she thinks good lawyers should reveal rather than conceal the truth.

The Top Non-SFO Financial Crime Trials To Watch In 2026

A major corruption trial against Nigeria's former oil minister, a tax fraud case against a prominent barrister and the prosecution of two men over a cyberattack on London's transport network are among the biggest white-collar cases in 2026 not brought by the Serious Fraud Office.

FCA Expected To Boost Fines, Name More Companies In 2026

The Financial Conduct Authority is likely to step up its enforcement action in 2026 with higher fines and more readiness to name companies under investigation, bolstered by a landmark High Court rejection of a challenge to such a naming decision.

What To Expect From The Competition Appeal Tribunal In 2026

With a new president at the helm, potential government reform and a crowded trial calendar, lawyers say the next 12 months will see a Competition Appeal Tribunal with a more disciplined judicial culture.

January 12, 2026
Ex-Goldman Exec Faces July FCPA Trial Over Ghana Deal

A Brooklyn federal judge on Monday teed up a midsummer trial for a former Goldman Sachs banker accused of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by bribing Ghanaian officials to secure a power plant deal.
January 12, 2026
Prosecutors Say Investors Lost Millions In Investment Scam

Four men defrauded two investors out of millions of dollars in "too good to be true" get-rich-quick investment schemes involving financial products, a prosecutor told the opening of a London trial on Monday.
January 12, 2026
City Law Firm Liable for £2M Over Partner's AML Oversight

A London court ruled Monday that the liquidators of a property company can recover just over £2.1 million ($3 million) from a City law firm after it found a partner had ignored obvious red flags of a client involved in fraud.
January 12, 2026
Make Legal Aid Priority Like Health, Education, Bar Chair Says

The new chair of the Bar Council called on Monday for legal aid funding to get the same kind of priority as spending on education and health care as she outlined her priorities for the year ahead.
January 12, 2026
Solicitor Accused At Trial Of Stalking Court Blogger

A solicitor stalked a legal blogger who had covered litigation in which he was involved by sending repeated emails that included threats of litigation and comments about his sexuality, prosecutors said at a London criminal court Monday.
January 12, 2026
FCA Warns Wealth Managers Sell ETPs To Wrong Consumers

The Financial Conduct Authority said Monday that investment businesses are failing to test consumers' knowledge adequately before selling them complex exchange-traded products without advice.
January 12, 2026
Briton Faces South Africa Extradition In £36M Bribery Case

A London judge on Monday ordered on Monday the extradition of a British businessman to South Africa, where he faces charges in connection with an alleged £36 million ($48.5 million) government bribery scandal.
January 12, 2026
Petrol Station Duo Faked Employment In Transfer Spat

A London employment tribunal has struck out contract transfer claims brought by two alleged petrol station employees after finding they deliberately fabricated payslips and employment contracts to support their case.
January 12, 2026
UK Pays Settlement To Tortured Guantánamo Bay Detainee

The government has reached settlement in a legal fight with a Guantánamo Bay detainee, two years after the U.K. Supreme Court said he should be able to bring a personal injury claim in England over his torture.
January 09, 2026
SEC's 'Hack-To-Trade' Suit Was Unfairly Served, UK Man Says

An accused hacker in the U.K. seeks to shed U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission allegations he made $3.75 million trading on nonpublic information he improperly gained access to, arguing he'd been unfairly served in prison.
January 09, 2026
Ex-Director Ordered To Pay £265K Over P2P Lender Fraud

A London judge ordered a former director of a peer-to-peer lender to pay £265,000 ($355,000) on Friday following the businessman's conviction for defrauding investors after the scheme failed.
January 09, 2026
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen a collapsed investment firm revive a $15 million dispute with a hedge fund, major Hollywood studios bring an IP claim against the U.K.'s largest internet providers over illegal streaming, and the Department of Health and Social Care sue the law firm and barrister representing it in a pharma competition damages case.
January 09, 2026
Charity Watchdog Probes City And Guilds' Business Arm Sale

England and Wales' charity regulator revealed Friday that it has opened a statutory inquiry into the City and Guilds of London Institute, examining the educational organization's estimated approximately £180 million ($242 million) sale of its awards businesses over concerns related to executives' bonuses.
January 09, 2026
Barrister Disbarred Over LLM Dissertation Plagiarism

A barrister who was recently called was disbarred by a London legal disciplinary tribunal panel Friday after it found that he had copied another student's work and submitted it for his law master's degree dissertation.
January 09, 2026
No Relief For Ex-Tech Officer's Unclear Whistleblowing Claims

A tribunal has refused interim relief for a former chief technology officer who claims that RedCloud Technologies Ltd. fired him for blowing the whistle on a data security flaw, finding it more likely that he was dismissed for other reasons.
January 08, 2026
Weyerhaeuser Says $1.5B Pension Move Didn't Harm Retirees

Lawyers for timber producer Weyerhaeuser and State Street Global Advisors urged a Washington federal judge at a hearing Thursday to throw out a proposed class action from retired workers over Weyerhaeuser's transfer of $1.5 billion in pension obligations to a private equity-backed insurance company, arguing that the retirees have failed to establish the deal actually harmed them.
January 08, 2026
HSBC To Pay €300M To Settle French Tax Fraud Probe

HSBC has agreed to pay French authorities more than €300 million ($350 million) in fines and unpaid taxes to settle a criminal probe into how the bank's Paris branch handled dividend arbitrage transactions between 2014 and 2019, public prosecutors revealed Thursday.
January 08, 2026
SRA Investigates Lawyer Over Threats To Leaseholders

The Solicitors Regulation Authority said Thursday it is investigating a London lawyer accused of bullying and threatening leaseholders into buying freeholds from him at inflated prices.
January 08, 2026
McDonald's Work Harassment Claims Under UK Gov't Review

The government has said it will further examine allegations by a group of trade unions and a campaigning organization that McDonald's has failed to appropriately address gender-based violence and harassment in its restaurants and franchises.
January 08, 2026
Ex-Seafood Bosses Deny Stealing £1.2M For Luxury Lifestyle

Former bosses of a seafood business have denied misappropriating £1.2 million ($1.6 million) to fund a lavish lifestyle that included luxury cars and extravagant holidays, claiming the expenses were approved business spending to make the company look successful.
January 08, 2026
Solicitor Accused Of Misleading Court In Personal Injury Case

A solicitor faces being prosecuted before a tribunal over allegations that she made a series of misleading statements to the court and defense counsel when she represented a client in a personal injury matter, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has said.
January 08, 2026
SFO Uses Novel Approach To Return £400K To Fraud Victims

The Serious Fraud Office said Thursday it will return £400,000 ($537,000) to people who were defrauded by a Lebanese financier more than two decades ago after using a novel legal strategy to claw back the money.
January 07, 2026
Aircraft Co. Settles $44M Claim Over Plane Stranded In Russia

An aircraft leasing company and two others have reached a settlement with a dozen reinsurers that they claimed should cover for the $44 million loss of a plane leased to a Russian airline and stranded after the country's invasion of Ukraine.
January 07, 2026
Solicitor Fined £40K For Misleading About Client's Cash

A tribunal has fined a solicitor £40,000 ($54,000) after concluding that he made misleading comments about a client's money but cleared the lawyer of advising the client to fabricate a defense to bribery charges.
January 07, 2026
Ex-Jefferies Banker To Face 2028 Trial For Insider Dealing

A former Jefferies International adviser and his alleged associate denied committing insider dealing to make £70,000 ($94,000) from the £969 million takeover of a real estate investment trust when they appeared at a London court on Wednesday.

Editor's Picks

6 Bombshell Moments From Staley's Bid To Clear His Name

Jes Staley has suffered a bruising week as he testified about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, culminating in an admission by the former banker that he had sex with a member of the disgraced financier's staff.
5 Questions For Spencer West Partner Karl Foster

The Financial Conduct Authority's approach to enforcement and consumer protection has come up against government economic growth priorities and resistance from the sector to its proposals to "name and shame" companies early on during regulatory probes.
UK Russia Sanctions Face Landmark Test At Supreme Court

The U.K.'s sanctions regime faces a major test on Wednesday as billionaire Eugene Shvidler seeks to have his financial restrictions cast off — the first case to challenge Russian sanctions that has reached the country's highest court.

Expert Analysis

EU Financial Regulation Trends Cos. Need To Watch In 2026

An ever-increasing number of initiatives on the European Union regulatory agenda, with simplification and consistent implementation being priorities, means financial services businesses with a footprint in the EU or seeking to establish one will face significant challenges and strategic opportunities, say lawyers at Taylor Wessing.
What To Expect From UK, EU Crypto Regime Changes In 2026

With 2025 marking the first operational year of the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation and the U.K.’s rules reaching their final legislative form, the two jurisdictions are converging in focus, but structural design differences mean firms active in both markets will require dedicated documentation to ensure compliance, say lawyers at Morgan Lewis.
What Cos. Can Expect From CMA Consumer Protection Drive

The Competition and Markets Authority’s recently launched consumer protection drive targeting banned online sales practices focuses on supporting compliance rather than on enforcement, although firms should expect this to change once businesses have had time to adapt to the regulator's new regime, say lawyers at Baker Botts.
Preparing For UK's New Tax Fraud Whistleblower Program

With the U.K. government introducing a U.S.-style whistleblower incentive scheme to tackle high-value tax avoidance and evasion, companies should take proactive steps and establish clear protocols to mitigate the potential increase in tax investigations, say lawyers at Skadden.
Key Trends Shaping ESG And Sustainability Law In 2026

2025 saw a chaotic regulatory landscape and novel litigation around environmental, social and governance issues and sustainability — and 2026, while perhaps more predictable, will likely be no less challenging, with more lawsuits and a regulatory tug-of-war complicating compliance for global companies, say attorneys at Crowell.
Digital Regulation In EU And UK: The Enduring 2025 Themes

With EU and U.K. digital regulation becoming an operational reality in 2025 and no sign of slowing in 2026, organizations need to embed content moderation, cybersecurity and data access obligations into their compliance structures, although legislative divergences mean that multinational businesses must also consider parallel and sometimes conflicting expectations, say lawyers at Morrison & Foerster.
FCA Enforcement Trends In 2025 And Expectations For 2026

The Financial Conduct Authority’s clear intention in 2025 to conduct fewer, faster investigations and reinforce transparency is likely to continue in 2026, with a dual-pronged approach of targeted enforcement and assertive supervision to fight crime, support growth and help consumers as its priorities, say lawyers at WilmerHale.
Judicial AI Guidance Update Shows Caution Still Prevails

The judiciary’s recently updated guidance on the use of artificial intelligence warns judges and tribunal members about misinformation and white text manipulation, providing a reminder that AI tools cannot replace direct engagement with evidence and reflecting a broader concern about their application when handling confidential material, say lawyers at Hogan Lovells.
Brazil Dam Ruling Highlights Role Of Corporate Accountability

The recent High Court judgment in Municipio de Mariana v. BHP concerning the collapse of the Fundao dam establishes a precedent for holding parent companies that exercise significant control and assume responsibility liable for the actions of group entities, notwithstanding their multinational corporate structure, say lawyers at Irwin Mitchell.
Freezing Orders Maintain Their Impact 50 Years On

Freezing orders, created in Mareva v. International Bulk Carriers 50 years ago, are now a fundamental part of English and Welsh law and a significant weapon in the litigator's armory, considered indispensable by practitioners seeking to obtain enforceable judgments and interlocutory relief on behalf of their clients, say lawyers at Trowers and Hamlins.
Decoding Arbitral Disputes: A Paris Ruling Defines Key Limits

Though French arbitration law is highly supportive of arbitral autonomy, last week's Paris Court of Appeal judgment annulling a $14.9 billion arbitral award against Malaysia reaffirms that such support is neither unqualified nor blind to defects striking at the very legitimacy of the arbitral process, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn.
EU Businesses Face Uncertainty Amid Sustainability Reforms

The European Commission’s sustainability omnibus, due to be approved this month, has brought a year of regulatory upheaval for European businesses, and although the long-awaited scaled-back obligations will provide clarity, a balance between not overburdening reporting companies and the need for data to make sustainable investments must be found, say lawyers at Peters & Peters.
SFO Compliance Guide Highlights Early Remediation Is Key

The Serious Fraud Office’s first external guidance on evaluating corporate compliance programs serves as an important reminder to organizations to keep their compliance measures under close review from the earliest stages of an internal investigation to mitigate the risk of ongoing and future misconduct, says Tom Grodecki at Cadwalader.
How Russia Sanctions Trajectory Is Affecting UK Legal Sector

The proliferation of U.K. and European Union sanctions targeting Russia has led to a vast increase in legislative provisions, and lawyers advising affected businesses should expect a complex and evolving legal landscape for the foreseeable future, says Rob Dalling at Jenner & Block.
EU's AI Omnibus Proposal Offers 10 Key Changes For Cos.

The European Commission’s recent proposal for an artificial intelligence digital omnibus aims to ease compliance burdens by extending timelines and increasing flexibility, bringing relief for midcaps and small and midsize enterprises, while enhanced cooperation requirements for regulators should reduce administrative duties for businesses, say lawyers at Cooley.