Corporate Crime & Compliance UK

  • April 28, 2025

    SFO Spent £4.7M On Abandoned Rio Tinto Corruption Probe

    The Serious Fraud Office spent nearly £4.7 million ($6.28 million) investigating allegations Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto entered into corrupt contracts in Africa before shutting down the probe in 2023, the agency has revealed.

  • April 28, 2025

    Watchdog Warns Of Significant Errors In Digital Reporting

    The accounting watchdog warned Monday that some companies listed on the London Stock Exchange are making significant errors in their digital annual reports through incorrect tagging.

  • April 28, 2025

    Court Compels Disclosure In £500K Phone Crypto-Theft Case

    The victim of a phone-snatching in London has secured a court order compelling four companies offering digital asset exchange services to disclose documents tied to an alleged fraud perpetrated against them after £500,000 ($667,000) in cryptocurrency was drained from his account.

  • April 25, 2025

    Belgian Data Watchdog Blocks FATCA Transfers To US

    Belgium's data privacy watchdog ruled that a government agency's transfers of personal data to the U.S. tax authority as part of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act is prohibited under European law.

  • April 25, 2025

    Deripaska Sues To Uncover Source Of Allegedly Forged Report

    A Russian oligarch has asked a London court to order a business intelligence company to divulge the source of an allegedly forged report used to back up a former business partner's bid to challenge a $95 million arbitration award.

  • April 25, 2025

    Nightclub Owner And Accountant Guilty Of £4.9M Tax Fraud

    A court has convicted a nightclub owner and his accountant of evading £4.9 million ($6.5 million) in tax, with the venue boss spending the money on luxury cars and a yacht, the U.K. tax authority said Friday.

  • April 25, 2025

    Tycoon's Son Loses Challenge To £3M Howard Kennedy Bill

    The son of a diamond tycoon accused of swindling $1 billion from banks lost his bid for a court-ordered review of his legal bills from Howard Kennedy on Friday as the High Court said he knew of the climbing costs linked to his international fraud case.

  • April 25, 2025

    UK Law, Accounting Bodies Queried On Poor SAR Records

    The anti-money laundering unit of the Financial Conduct Authority has told legal and accounting professional bodies to justify their failure to check the quality of suspicious activity reports by their member firms.

  • April 25, 2025

    Fess Up, Or Wait And See? SFO Policy Shift Stirs DPA Debate

    The Serious Fraud Office's "cast iron" promise that companies self-reporting wrongdoing will duck prosecution could lead to a new wave of settlements — but only if other controversial reforms push businesses to the negotiation table, lawyers say.

  • April 25, 2025

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen pub operator Stonegate sue insurance broker Marsh, a human rights lawyer sued for defamation by Russian businessman Ovik Mkrtchyan, and British toy-maker The Character Group reignite an employment dispute with a former finance director. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • April 24, 2025

    Ofcom Unveils Final Child Safety Rules For Tech Cos.

    The U.K. communications regulator finalized new rules Thursday to protect children's safety online, compelling technology companies to introduce "highly effective" age checks or face fines or nationwide bans.

  • April 24, 2025

    Marine Co. Claims Axis Bank Misled It Into $21M Loan Scheme

    A marine energy company has sued the Dubai branch of India's Axis Bank for $41.7 million, alleging that the lender misled it into participating in a loan to a shipping company secured against ships that were later sold without its knowledge.

  • April 24, 2025

    Lloyd Firth On SFO's New Energy And UK Regulatory Shift

    Lloyd Firth comes from a long line of blue-collar workers from the north of England. Bricklayers, mostly, but also coal miners and gas blowers from Barnsley's furnaces. Firth, whose father and brother still work in the trade, read books instead.

  • April 24, 2025

    Digital Pharma Biz Sues Lender Over CEO Loan Collusion

    A digital pharmacy company has accused a small business lender of knowingly working with its former CEO to funnel huge unauthorized loans into the firm, ignoring clear signs that the executive was acting dishonestly and beyond his powers.

  • April 24, 2025

    Gov't Fairly Fired Anti-Fraud Officer Over Misconduct

    An employment tribunal has found that the Department for Work and Pensions was right to fire a counterfraud officer for inappropriately accessing records on its customer information system because it was not the first time she had done so.

  • April 24, 2025

    Canfield Law Faces £4M Claim Over Alleged Property Fraud

    A Hong Kong businessman has accused a London law firm in a High Court claim of failing to ask questions in connection with a high-value property deal, which he says facilitated a fraud that cost him more than £4 million ($5.3 million).

  • April 24, 2025

    Legal Exec Banned For Misappropriating £219K Client Funds

    A legal executive has been disqualified and banned from working at law firms after the English solicitors' watchdog concluded that he had misappropriated £219,000 ($292,000) from a dead client's estate.

  • April 23, 2025

    SFO Updates Rules To Cut Deals With Firms That Come Clean

    The Serious Fraud Office said on Thursday that it is ready to cut deals with companies that come clean about their suspected crimes, part of a major policy change designed to boost the flagging number of corporate settlements.

  • April 23, 2025

    Rainer Hughes Founder Accused Of Laundering Fraud Funds

    Prosecutors accused a founder of Rainer Hughes LLP of laundering the proceeds of a multimillion-pound alcohol tax fraud at the beginning of a criminal trial in London on Wednesday.

  • April 23, 2025

    Lawyers Face Misconduct Case For Letting Trainee Run Firm

    The Solicitors Regulation Authority told a disciplinary tribunal on Wednesday that a group of lawyers were guilty of misconduct for allowing a trainee to buy and run a firm, leading to accounts rules breaches and a mishandled case.

  • April 23, 2025

    Brazilian Cos. Appeal EU Rulings Over Madeira Tax Scheme

    Several Brazilian companies are appealing the European Union's court rulings that tax breaks they received in the Madeira Free Trade Zone are considered illegal state aid provided by Portugal​​​​​, according to the Official Journal of the EU.

  • April 23, 2025

    Payroll Biz Exec Banned For 8 Years Over £2.5M Tax Fraud

    The boss of a defunct payroll company that failed to pay millions of pounds in value-added tax was banned as a director for eight years on Wednesday after a government investigation into the business' significant tax underpayments.

  • April 23, 2025

    SFO Bribery Case Could Test Unanswered Legal Principles

    Allegations by the Serious Fraud Office that an insurance broker failed to prevent bribery will tread new ground, a sign that the agency is willing to probe largely unanswered legal principles to test the extent of its powers, lawyers say.

  • April 23, 2025

    Apple, Meta Fined €700M In 1st Penalty Under EU Tech Rules

    The European Commission said Wednesday it has fined Apple Inc. €500 million ($570 million) and Meta €200 million for failing to give consumers choices on offers and how their personal data is used — the first decision under the bloc's Digital Markets Act.

  • April 22, 2025

    SRA Fines Law Firm £37K For AML Compliance Failure

    The English solicitors' regulator has hit a firm with an almost £37,000 ($49,000) fine after the firm admitted failing to carry out risk assessments required by anti-money laundering regulations.

Expert Analysis

  • 10 Ways To Manage AI Risks In Service Contracts

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    With the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act coming into force on Aug. 1 and introducing a new regulatory risk, and with AI technology continuing to develop at pace, parties to services arrangements should employ mechanisms now to build in flexibility and get on the front foot, says James Longster at Travers Smith.

  • What Future May Hold For AI Innovation In UK Under Labour

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    Labour’s recent King's Speech was notable in its absence of discussion of a comprehensive artificial intelligence bill, and while this may indicate to many that the UK is open for business, the party’s approach to cross-sectoral engagement will be critical for shaping Britain's AI landscape in the near term, says Alexander Amato-Cravero at Herbert Smith.

  • Unpacking The New Concept Of 'Trading Misfeasance'

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    In addition to granting one of the largest trading awards since the Insolvency Act was passed in 1986, the High Court recently introduced a novel claim for misfeasant trading in Wright v. Chappell, opening the door to liability for directors, even where insolvent liquidation or administration was not inevitable, say lawyers at Greenberg Traurig.

  • EU WhatsApp Deletion Fine Sends Clear Message

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    The recent European Commission fine of International Flavors & Fragrances — the first for the deletion of social media messages during a dawn raid — although halved as a result of IFF's cooperation, shows the commission's view on obstruction poses a real risk to companies under investigation, says Matthew Hall at McGuireWoods.

  • Key Takeaways From Proposed EU Anticorruption Directive

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    The European Commission's anticorruption proposal, on which the EU Council recently adopted a position, will substantially alter the landscape of corporate compliance and liability across the EU, so companies will need to undertake rigorous revisions of their compliance frameworks to align with the directive's demands, say lawyers at Linklaters.

  • Implications Of EU Network Directive For Data Center Owners

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    With the October implementation deadline of the EU’s new cybersecurity regime under the Network Systems Directive fast approaching, data center owners and operators need to consider compliance steps, and U.K. companies providing services in the EU should take note, say lawyers at Bird & Bird.

  • New EU Guidelines Provide Insights On Global AI Regulation

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    The European Data Protection Supervisor’s first guidelines on artificial intelligence only apply to governmental bodies, but together with the EU AI Act they demonstrate a strong and prescriptive policy, and offer a glimpse into what could be the next phase in world AI regulation, says Kevin Benedicto at Redgrave.

  • Boeing Plea Deal Is A Mixed Bag, Providing Lessons For Cos.

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    The plea deal for conspiracy to defraud regulators that Boeing has tentatively agreed to will, on the one hand, probably help the company avoid further reputational damage, but also demonstrates to companies that deferred prosecution agreements have real teeth, and that noncompliance with DPA terms can be costly, says Edmund Vickers at Red Lion Chambers.

  • Keeping Up With Carbon Capture Policy In The US And EU

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    Recent regulatory moves from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the European Commission in the carbon capture, sequestration and storage space are likely to further encourage the owners and operators of fossil fuel-fired power plants to make decisions on shutdowns or reconfiguration to meet the expanding requirements, say Inosi Nyatta and Silvia Brünjes at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • How AI Treaty Will Further Global Governance Cooperation

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    The EU’s recently adopted treaty on artificial intelligence represents a significant step toward global cooperation in AI governance in emphasizing human rights obligations, although additional guidance and clarity would be beneficial to minimize varied interpretations at national level, say lawyers at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • EU Investor-State Dispute Transparency Rules: Key Points

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    The European Union's recent vote to embrace greater transparency for investor-state arbitration will make managing newly public information more complex for all parties in a dispute — so it is important for stakeholders to understand the risks and opportunities involved, say Philip Hall, Tara Flores and Charles McKeon at Thorndon Partners.

  • How Regulation Of Tech Providers Is Breaking New Ground

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    The forthcoming EU regulation on digital operational resilience and the U.K. critical third-party regime, by expanding the direct application of financial services regulation to designated technology providers, represent a significant development that is not to be underestimated, say David Berman and Emily Lemaire at Covington.

  • Takeaways From EU's Initial Findings On Apple's App Store

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    A deep dive into the European Commission's recent preliminary findings that Apple's App Store rules are in breach of the Digital Markets Act reveal that enforcement of the EU's Big Tech law might go beyond the literal text of the regulation and more toward the spirit of compliance, say William Dolan and Pratik Agarwal at Rule Garza.

  • Why Trustees Should Take Note Of Charity Code Consultation

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    The Charity Governance Code Steering Group's recently launched governance code consultation is unlikely to result in a radical overhaul, but with the bigger issue being awareness and application by smaller underresourced charities, trustees should engage with the process to help shape the next iteration of this valuable tool, says Chris Priestley at Withers.

  • What EU Net-Zero Act Will Mean For Tech Manufacturers

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    Martin Weitenberg at Eversheds Sutherland discusses the European Council’s recently adopted Net-Zero Industry Act and provides an overview of its main elements relevant for net-zero technology manufacturers, including benchmarks, enhanced permitting procedures and the creation of new institutions.

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