Reluctance among lawyers to raise the alarm on suspicious clients is hampering the fight against economic crime as companies wrestle with legal and cultural issues that could land them in hot water with regulators.
The Serious Fraud Office's bribery settlement with a British defense contractor underscores the agency's policy shift toward cutting deals in less than ideal circumstances, offering a blueprint on how to realign derailed negotiations, lawyers say.
New legislation laid out in the King's Speech on Wednesday included the government's plans for a bill to strengthen trading ties with the European Union alongside an Enhancing Financial Services Bill in the next 12 months, but lawyers warn that the scope remains limited with potential unexpected consequences.
New powers that put companies on the chopping block for crimes committed by their executives dramatically expand corporate liability to include a wider array of offenses, which businesses already struggling with "compliance fatigue" have barely begun to grapple with, lawyers say.
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Reluctance among lawyers to raise the alarm on suspicious clients is hampering the fight against economic crime as companies wrestle with legal and cultural issues that could land them in hot water with regulators.
The Serious Fraud Office's bribery settlement with a British defense contractor underscores the agency's policy shift toward cutting deals in less than ideal circumstances, offering a blueprint on how to realign derailed negotiations, lawyers say.
New legislation laid out in the King's Speech on Wednesday included the government's plans for a bill to strengthen trading ties with the European Union alongside an Enhancing Financial Services Bill in the next 12 months, but lawyers warn that the scope remains limited with potential unexpected consequences.
New powers that put companies on the chopping block for crimes committed by their executives dramatically expand corporate liability to include a wider array of offenses, which businesses already struggling with "compliance fatigue" have barely begun to grapple with, lawyers say.
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May 22, 2026
Pinsent Masons LLP has referred itself to the Solicitors Regulation Authority after admitting that one of its junior lawyers used artificial intelligence to generate made-up law in letters sent to court, as a London judge said Friday he would not consider initiating contempt proceedings.
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May 22, 2026
Long-awaited government guidance says organizations that provide separate spaces and services for men and women must do so on the basis of biological sex rather than chosen gender — but the advice was criticized Friday for appearing to weaken legal protections for transgender people.
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May 22, 2026
A Labour member of the U.K. Parliament vying to succeed Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said he will work to implement a "wealth tax that works" by equalizing capital gains tax and income tax rates if he wins a future leadership contest.
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May 22, 2026
The owners of a vessel were entitled to refuse to load a cargo by an oil company allegedly part-owned by an oligarch with links to Belarus after an appeals court held Friday they reasonably feared they would breach sanctions.
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May 22, 2026
The former owners of PrivatBank failed on Friday to overturn a finding that they owe the Ukrainian lender $3 billion, as an appeals court rejected their argument that its acceptance of a later repayment "extinguished" the loss resulting from their fraudulent loan recycling scheme.
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May 22, 2026
Administrators of a company linked to Market Financial Solutions have sued Paresh Raja, the collapsed lender's owner, in a London court for alleged breach of fiduciary duty — the latest in growing litigation surrounding the mortgage scandal.
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May 22, 2026
The past week in London has seen Napster sued by a music royalties company, White & Case LLP and Laytons LLP targeted in a claim by a property developer, a short-term lender pursue legal action against law firm Rainer Hughes and its former founding partner following his strike-off for money laundering offenses, and the administrators of London Bridging sue the founder of collapsed Market Financial Solutions. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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May 21, 2026
The European Union's top court issued a series of judgments on Thursday reinforcing the bloc's ability to look past trusts to identify assets that individuals benefit from in order to enforce sanctions.
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May 21, 2026
Two businesses urged Britain's highest court on Thursday to rule that whistleblowers suing over unfair dismissal cannot also pursue separate claims for detriment arising from the same dismissal in a case that could reshape the scope of protection under the Employment Rights Act.
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May 21, 2026
U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves announced plans Thursday to restrict offshore tax planning by energy multinationals as part of a series of fiscal measures, including cuts to fuel duty and value-added tax.
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May 21, 2026
The former boss of London Capital & Finance PLC was hit with a six-month prison sentence Thursday for breaching an order imposed by the Serious Fraud Office during an investigation into the £237 million ($317.9 million) collapse of the company.
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May 21, 2026
An English appeals court ruled Thursday that the Solicitors Regulation Authority might have to pay Dentons more than £515,000 ($690,000) over the watchdog's failed attempt to prosecute the firm for breaching the U.K.'s money laundering rules.
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May 21, 2026
The Information Commissioner's Office said Thursday it had secured a confiscation order of more than £355,000 ($476,000) against a former motor insurance worker convicted of unlawfully accessing and selling personal data for financial gain.
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May 21, 2026
The Bank of England said Thursday that it will loosen rules to make it easier for foreign insurers to operate in the U.K. as part of an effort to boost the national economy.
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May 20, 2026
A London court rejected a former director's bid to claim a $1.3 million bonus from her old company, agreeing with an arbitrator that the director and the former CEO had fraudulently backdated an agreement by five years.
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May 20, 2026
Three companies have denied allegations that they conspired to defraud a management consultancy by helping a purported bond market trader dissipate a $9.4 million investment, claiming the funds they received from the trader's business were legitimate payments relating to loans.
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May 20, 2026
The City of London Police announced Wednesday that an international crackdown on fraud has led to the arrests of 31 people through a joint effort with the private sector and authorities in Nigeria.
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May 20, 2026
A senior tax barrister cheated the public purse out of almost £2 million ($2.7 million) through a series of "elaborate arrangements," a prosecutor said on the first day of the lawyer's criminal trial on Wednesday.
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May 20, 2026
The U.K. government on Wednesday permitted imports of diesel and jet fuel refined abroad using Russian crude oil, watering down sanctions on Russian oil products following the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
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May 20, 2026
Nottingham Forest Football Club owner Evangelos Marinakis persuaded a London court on Wednesday that articles, videos and social media posts at the center of his £5 million ($6.7 million) libel claim against the chair of Greek club Aris are capable of being defamatory.
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May 19, 2026
A former criminal law specialist at a firm in northeast England has been barred from practicing after he deliberately directed a client to pay into his personal bank account more than £5,000 ($6,698) intended for his firm in legal fees.
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May 19, 2026
The U.K.'s charity watchdog said Tuesday that a football charity had "let down the players" as it published a highly critical report on mismanagement by trustees and announced the recovery of £2.5 million ($3.35 million) of funds by the nonprofit.
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May 19, 2026
The Bar Standards Board said Tuesday that it has appointed four new members to join its board during 2026, including Sara Lawson KC, the former general counsel of the Serious Fraud Office.
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May 19, 2026
Spain's former prime minister is under criminal investigation over corruption allegations linked to the government bailout of an airline during the COVID-19 pandemic, a judge revealed on Tuesday.
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May 19, 2026
The Metropolitan Police said Tuesday that 57 people and 20 organizations are suspects for criminal charges that might be brought over the Grenfell Tower fire in which 72 people — including 18 children — were killed.