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Corporate Crime & Compliance UK
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Featured
FCA's 'Disgraceful' Response To Ruling Knocks Credibility
The Financial Conduct Authority's "disgraceful" response to a recent legal setback in a key enforcement case risks diminishing its reputation — adding to the pain of a critical costs judgment that lawyers say could prompt the watchdog to rethink how it approaches cases.
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March 18, 2024
HMRC Defends Response To Tax Avoidance Ploy
The U.K. tax authority has rejected claims that it has been "heavy-handed" by applying the loan charge to users of disguised remuneration schemes, according to a letter released on Tuesday by the Treasury Committee.
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March 18, 2024
Axed HMRC Staffer Wins £16K Disability Discrimination Case
HM Revenue and Customs must pay a disabled former employee £15,900 ($20,200) after it unfairly sacked him for gross misconduct and wrote off his claim that his sleep apnea was to blame, a Scottish tribunal has ruled.
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March 18, 2024
Prison Sentence Persuades Ex-Solicitor To Pay FCA's Order
The Financial Conduct Authority said Friday that money launderer and ex-solicitor Dale Walker has paid a final sum of £33,500 ($42,600) required under a confiscation order, persuaded by a 62-day prison sentence for failure to pay.
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March 18, 2024
Ex-LC&F Chief's Legal Team Seeks Payment Upfront For Trial
The £237 million ($300 million) London Capital & Finance investment trial was adjourned on Monday as the company chief's former legal team refused to come back unless they were paid upfront.
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March 18, 2024
Hayes Laments Judge's 'Catastrophic' SFO Interview Remarks
A former derivatives' trader said Monday that, although he had admitted to dishonestly submitting figures for a key benchmark interest rate, it was unhelpful, prejudicial and ultimately "catastrophic" that the judge presiding over his trial told jurors that his conduct was misleading.
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March 18, 2024
FCA Levies £5.95M Fine In Fake Dividend Tax Reclaim Case
The Financial Conduct Authority said Monday it had decided to fine the former chief executive of Indigo Global Partners Ltd. £5.95 million ($7.57 million) and ban him from the industry for participating in a Danish tax scam that falsely reclaimed dividend taxes on shares.
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March 18, 2024
Serving Claims To HMRC By Email Made Permanent
Claimants pursuing legal action against the U.K. tax authority in England and Wales will continue to be able to serve documents by email, HM Revenue and Customs said Monday, making the process it introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic permanent.
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March 18, 2024
SFO's Ephgrave Targets Fraud In Push To Kick Down Doors
The Serious Fraud Office's fifth new investigation in the five months since Nick Ephgrave took the helm shows the watchdog has focused on domestic fraud cases and delivered on the director's pledge to be bolder, lawyers say.
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March 18, 2024
Watchdogs Join Forces To Ramp Up Fight On Debt Collection
The Financial Conduct Authority said on Monday it is launching a joint effort with three other watchdogs to further scrutinize debt collection practices, ensuring that companies fairly treat consumers who are feeling the pinch from the cost-of-living crisis.
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March 15, 2024
Ex-Autonomy CEO To Face Jury As HP Fraud Trial Boots Up
Former Autonomy CEO Michael Lynch's 2011 sale of the tech company he founded to HP for about $11.7 billion earned him around $804 million and acclaim in tech circles, but the British executive now faces up to 20 years in prison on federal fraud charges that he inflated revenue figures in a monthslong criminal trial slated to kick off Monday in San Francisco.
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March 15, 2024
Emirati Banks Deny Misleading Court To Get $31M Order
Emirates NBD Bank PJSC has denied misleading the Dubai courts to secure court orders for 117 million AED ($31.8 million) to enforce loans it claims executives of a Kuwaiti opticians company owe.
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March 15, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
The past week in London has seen Howard Kennedy face legal action by a London hotel chain, former racing boss Bernie Ecclestone and Formula One hit with a breach of contract claim by a Brazilian racecar driver, and a libel row between broadcaster Jeremy Vine and ex-footballer Joey Barton. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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March 15, 2024
US Acquittals Don't Upend UK Libor Convictions, SFO Says
The acquittals in the U.S. of two former bankers previously convicted of rigging Libor doesn't undermine the legal rationale — upheld on several appeals — for prosecuting traders in English courts, counsel for the Serious Fraud Office said Friday.
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March 15, 2024
Ex-Pharma Boss Avoids Prison For Misleading Watchdog
A former pharmaceutical boss avoided prison on Friday for misleading the medicine regulator in the U.K. to gain approval for a novel drug, after his now-defunct company fully paid a £1.07 million ($1.36 million) fine.
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March 14, 2024
Judge Breyer Seeks To Boost Security Outside SF Courthouse
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said at a Thursday hearing that he'll meet with the U.S. Marshals Service to press for increased security around the San Francisco courthouse to ensure court staff and jurors' safety, the same day the city was sued over the neighborhood's open-air drug markets.
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March 14, 2024
Trustee Partially Wins Bid To Nix Defense In Italian Villa Claim
A London court has granted a Russian bankruptcy trustee's bid to throw out some defenses of banker Georgy Ivanovich Bedzhamov's romantic partner over her claim to an Italian villa, finding them "hopeless" and that they had "no real prospect of success."
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March 14, 2024
Rosenblatt Faces Wasted Costs Bid In Nigeria Oil Spill Case
Rosenblatt faces costs proceedings brought by Shell after a London judge ruled Thursday that the firm did not have authority to act on behalf of the majority of claimants in a case over an 2011 oil spill off the coast of Nigeria.
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March 14, 2024
Aid Charity Fired Lockdown 'Shisha Cave' Whistleblower
A humanitarian charity made an employee redundant in retaliation for her blowing the whistle about colleagues smoking and potentially taking illegal drugs in its offices during a COVID-19 lockdown, a U.K. employment tribunal has ruled.
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March 14, 2024
Italy Fines TikTok €10M For Harmful Content
Italy's antitrust authority fined TikTok €10 million ($11 million) on Thursday for failing to protect children from potentially dangerous content on the platform.
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March 14, 2024
Craig Wright Timeline: From Australia To The London Courts
Computer scientist Craig Wright's one-man mission to prove to the courts that he is the elusive creator of bitcoin came to an end Thursday as a London judge rejected his claim in one of the most-discussed intellectual property cases in the English courts. Here, Law360 looks back at the history of Wright's claims.
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March 14, 2024
Ex-Libor Trader Hayes Claims Judge Denied Him Fair Trial
The conviction of former UBS trader Tom Hayes for rigging Libor is "unsafe" and should be overturned because the judge overseeing his trial committed a "cardinal" breach of his rights by telling jurors he had submitted false rates, his lawyer told the Court of Appeal on Thursday.
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March 14, 2024
Wright Is Not The Inventor Of Bitcoin, Judge Rules
A London judge ruled Thursday that Australian computer scientist Craig Wright is not the pseudonymous inventor of bitcoin, ruling that the evidence against his claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto was "overwhelming."
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March 13, 2024
Marketing Boss Says LC&F Services Provided In 'Good Faith'
The head of a marketing company that provided services to London Capital & Finance did so in "good faith," and had no knowledge of an alleged Ponzi scheme, his lawyer told a London trial on Wednesday over the £237 million ($304 million) investment scandal.
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March 13, 2024
Four Car Manufacturers To Face Dieselgate Trial In 2025
Ford and Nissan are among four major carmakers that will face trial in October 2025 over claims on behalf of 1.25 million motorists alleging that the manufacturers used in-car technology to cheat emissions tests, Leigh Day said Wednesday.
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March 13, 2024
EU Parliament Overwhelmingly Passes Landmark AI Law
European Union lawmakers voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday in favor of a first-of-its-kind artificial intelligence law, in a bid to help facilitate innovation while safeguarding the bloc's fundamental rights.
Editor's Picks
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Authorities May Feel The Sting From Loser Pays Ruling
The U.K. Supreme Court opened the door to public authorities being forced to pay defendants' costs from failed enforcement actions, but attorneys say it is too soon to know whether that risk will deter agencies from bringing cutting-edge cases.
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7 Questions For Steptoe & Johnson's Zoe Osborne
Steptoe & Johnson LLP's Zoe Osborne talks to Law360 about the rise of deferred prosecution agreements, leaving the world of Magic Circle firms and the challenges of being a woman in the male-dominated white collar world.
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7 Questions With Cohen & Gresser's John Gibson
Cohen & Gresser LLP's U.K. white collar chief John Gibson talks to Law360 about building a new team, his experience at the country's top fraud prosecutor, and where he expects the watchdog to turn its sights next.
Expert Analysis
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EEA Equivalence Statement Is Welcomed By Fund Managers
The recent statement confirming European Economic Area equivalence to undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities for U.K. overseas funds regime purposes removes many managers’ concerns in the wake of Brexit, giving a clear pathway out of temporary marketing permissions and easing the transition from one regime to another, says Catherine Weeks at Simmons & Simmons.
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In Int'l Arbitration Agreements, Be Clear About Governing Law
A trilogy of recent cases in the English High Court and Court of Appeal highlight the importance of parties agreeing to explicit choice of law language at the outset of an arbitration agreement in order to avoid costly legal skirmishes down the road, say lawyers at Faegre Drinker.
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Post Office Scandal Stresses Key Directors Duties Lessons
The Post Office scandal, involving hundreds of wrongful convictions of subpostmasters based on an IT failure, offers lessons for company directors on the magnitude of the impact that a failure to fulfill their duties can have on employees and the company, says Simon Goldberg at Simons Muirhead.
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Employer Tips For Handling Data Subject Access Requests
As employers face numerous employee data-subject access requests — and the attendant risks of complaints to the Information Commissioner's Office — issues such as managing deadlines and sifting through data make compliance more difficult, highlighting the importance of efficient internal processes and clear communication when responding to a request, say Gwynneth Tan and Amy Leech at Shoosmiths.
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Comparing UK And EU's View On 3rd-Party Service Providers
The U.K. is taking welcome steps to address the lack of direct oversight over critical third-party service providers, and although less onerous than that of the EU Digital Operational Resilience Act, the U.K. regime's proportionate approach is designed to make providers more robust and reliable, say lawyers at Shearman.
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CMA Road Map Helps Cos. Prepare For UK Digital Markets Bill
Although only provisional, the recent publication of the Competition and Markets Authority's road map for the implementation of the U.K. Digital Markets Bill demonstrates that the regulator is keen to reassure Parliament that it takes accountability seriously, and that there will be sufficient safeguards in place regarding its decision making, say lawyers at Morgan Lewis.
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Opinion
European Union Criticisms Of The FCPA Are Misguided
Some in the European Union have criticized U.S. enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for what they perceive as jurisdictional overreach, but this appears to overlook the crucial fact that jurisdiction is voluntary, and critics should focus instead on the lack of equivalent laws in their own region, say John Joy and YuTong Wang at FTI Law.
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Key Points Of BoE Response To Digital Pound Consultation
Lawyers at Hogan Lovells analyze the recent Bank of England and U.K. government response to a consultation on the launch of a digital pound, finding that the phased approach to evaluating the issues makes sense given the significant potential impact on the U.K. economy.
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Bribery Class Action Ruling May Revive Bifurcated Processes
The Court of Appeal's recent decision allowing the representative bribery action in Commission Recovery v. Marks & Clerk offers renewed hope for claimants to advance class claims using a bifurcated process amid its general absence as of late, say Jon Gale and Justin Browne at Ashurst.
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Goldman Prosecution Delivers A Clear Sign Of FCA Strength
The recent successful prosecution of a former Goldman Sachs analyst for insider dealing and fraud is a reminder to regulated individuals that economic crime will never be tolerated, and that the Financial Conduct Authority is willing to bare its teeth in the exercise of its prosecutorial remit, says Doug Cherry at Fladgate.
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Whistleblower Pay Is A Risky Path For The SFO To Tread
In a recent speech, Serious Fraud Office director Nick Ephgrave supported the payment of whistleblowers, but implementing such an extreme measure is potentially hazardous and could leave the new director a hostage to fortune, says Richard Cannon at Stokoe Partnership.
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The Good, The Bad And The New Of The UK Sanctions Regime
Almost six years after the Sanctions and Money Laundering Act was introduced, the U.K. government has published a strategy paper that outlines its focus points and unveils potential changes to the regime, such as a new humanitarian exception for financial sanctions, highlighting the rapid transformation of the U.K. sanctions landscape, says Josef Rybacki at WilmerHale.
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Businesses Using AI Face Novel Privacy, Cybersecurity Risks
Rapid advancements in artificial intelligence are resulting in complex privacy and cybersecurity challenges for businesses, and with the forthcoming EU AI Act and enhancement of existing laws to ensure a high common level of security, key stakeholders should be empowered to manage associated risks, say lawyers at Goodwin.
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A Look At Environment Agency's New Economic Crime Unit
Sophie Wood at Kingsley Napley explains how the Environment Agency’s newly established Economic Crime Unit will pursue criminal money flows from environmental offenses, and discusses the unit’s civil powers, including the ability to administer account freezing and forfeiture orders, says Sophie Wood at Kingsley Napley.
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Prompt Engineering Skills Are Changing The Legal Profession
With a focus on higher-value work as repetitive tasks are delegated to artificial intelligence, legal roles are set to become more inspiring, and lawyers need not fear the rising demand for prompt engineers that is altering the technology-enabled legal environment, say Eric Crawley, Shah Karim and Paul O’Hagan at Epiq Legal.