Corporate Crime & Compliance UK

Compliance in the workplace concept: photo of keyboard and cardboard files.

UK Growth Push Puts FCA Enforcement On Unfamiliar Footing

The government's demand that regulators should prioritize growth is "largely incompatible" with their duty to deter misconduct, say lawyers who are warning clients not to interpret the political messaging as a green light to engage in risky behavior.

American and Russian flags fly together in a breeze.

From Russia With Love? UK Lawyers Mull Sanctions U-Turn

Finance companies are enlisting white-collar lawyers to draw up plans for tapping back into Russia if the U.S. breaks with its Western allies and eases sanctions, although experts warn that unpredictable political winds mean there are as many risks as opportunities.

A red warning sign over a laptop indicating the system has been hacked.

UK Ransomware Ban Could Boost Cost Of Cyber-Insurance

The cost of buying cyber-insurance for the public sector and critical infrastructure could rise significantly because of a proposed ban on paying ransomware demands, experts warn, as the U.K. government looks at ways to disrupt the income of online criminals.

Thames Water Fine Signals Growing Enviro Risk For Business

The historical fine imposed on Thames Water for environmental failings and improper payments to shareholders is a novel use of new legal powers given to the waste and water regulator — and a warning about growing regulatory risks, lawyers say.

June 12, 2025
5 Questions For Howard Kennedy Partner Rebecca Hume

The U.K government is putting crypto-assets at the heart of its growth agenda, relying on the Financial Conduct Authority to shore up regulation of the sector.
June 11, 2025
Gov't Pledges Up To £450M Per Year To Tackle Courts Backlog

The U.K. government has pledged up to an additional £450 million ($609 million) per year for the courts system in England and Wales by 2028-29 to boost crown court sittings to "record levels" and tackle the growing backlog, according to its spending review released Wednesday.
June 11, 2025
EuroChem Fights Banks Over €212M Bonds In Sanctions Row

A Russian subsidiary of fertilizer producer EuroChem accused two European banks of using the pretext of sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine to "never" pay out on €212 million ($244 million) in bonds, on the first day of a High Court trial Wednesday.
June 11, 2025
SFO's Budget To Approach £100M In Spending Boost

The Serious Fraud Office will receive additional funding that will bring its budget near the £100 million ($136 million) mark in three years, the U.K. government pledged Wednesday — funds that the white-collar crime prosecutor will invest in its investigatory capabilities and technology.
June 11, 2025
37% Of Romania Cos. Fall Short On EU Reporting Standard

Almost 40% of businesses filing public country-by-country reports in Romania are failing to fully comply with the European Union's reporting standard, according to a report by a nonprofit organization.
June 11, 2025
UK's Top Court Limits Role Of Early Release In Extraditions

Britain's highest court ruled Wednesday that U.K. judges should attach little weight to other countries' prison early release programs when they decide whether to extradite inmates, saying that it would be "usurping" the role of overseas judges.
June 11, 2025
War Risk Insurers Held Liable For Jets Stranded In Russia

Major insurers are liable to payout in a multibillion-dollar dispute over hundreds of aircraft stranded in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, after a London judge ruled on Wednesday that the jets and engines are officially lost.
June 10, 2025
Greensill Says He Was Trapped In Katerra Restructuring Deal

Lex Greensill said Tuesday that he was "between a rock and a hard place" in a restructuring deal involving his eponymous firm and SoftBank, a Japanese investment company, as the former banker gave evidence in a $440 million trial in London of a claim brought by a collapsed Credit Suisse fund.
June 10, 2025
UK Treasury Committee Warns HMRC Over Phishing Attack

A British treasury committee warned HM Revenue & Customs in a letter published Tuesday that its failure to report details of a breach affecting around 100,000 taxpayers is unacceptable.
June 10, 2025
Insolvency Service Hires Crypto-Specialist To Aid Recoveries

A U.K. government agency responsible for investigating company insolvencies has appointed its first crypto-specialist to help recover digital assets such as bitcoin for creditors.
June 10, 2025
Lawyer Loses Bid To Ax 'Greedy' Label In $11B Ruling

A London appeals court refused Tuesday a solicitor's bid to chuck references to his being "greedy" and "corrupt" in a judgment over a fraudulent $11 billion arbitration award against Nigeria, ruling that the lower court did not violate his right to a fair trial.
June 10, 2025
FCA's Rathi Tries To Gauge Gov't Risk Appetite For Crypto

The Financial Conduct Authority warned a cross-party group of MPs on Tuesday it needed a steer on the government's risk appetite for crypto-assets amid the push for U.K. competitiveness and economic growth.
June 10, 2025
PPE Agent Keeps Sheridans Case Alive After Fraud Settlement

A medical supply agent is continuing its negligence case against London law firm Sheridans, despite settling a linked $10.8 million fraud claim from a British company that accused it of taking secret commissions on COVID-19 pandemic protection equipment orders.
June 10, 2025
Ex-Sky Sports Host Gets 11-Year Director Ban Over £10M Debt

Former Sky Sports presenter Alan Bentley has been banned from running companies for 11 years after his football betting business collapsed with debts to investors of more than £10 million ($13.5 million), the Insolvency Service revealed Tuesday.
June 09, 2025
German Court Convicts 1 In €23M Platinum Coin VAT Fraud

A German court has convicted one of the leaders of a criminal organization responsible for more than €23 million ($26.3 million) in evaded value-added taxes through its trade of platinum coins, the European Public Prosecutor's Office said.
June 09, 2025
CPS Launches Plan To Return Lawyers To Criminal Practice

The Crown Prosecution Service is offering to support criminal lawyers to return to the workforce following a career break, as problems with recruitment and retention of solicitors and barristers continue to blight the justice system after decades of underinvestment.
June 09, 2025
Lex Greensill Claims SoftBank Hid Deal With 'Code Of Silence'

Lex Greensill testified in a $440 million London trial Monday that SoftBank, a Japanese investment company, had designed a restructuring agreement involving his firm to avoid putting potential losses on its accounts in his first public appearance since his eponymous firm's collapse.
June 09, 2025
Ex-Commerzbank Analyst Denies Faking Sex Assault Claims

A former Commerzbank analyst on Monday fought claims that he lied to a court by making false sexual assault allegations in his failed harassment case against the bank, telling a London court he was being truthful.
June 09, 2025
Six Men Deny Tax Fraud Charges Over Payroll Outsourcing

Six individuals pleaded not guilty to tax fraud and money laundering charges at a criminal court in London on Monday as part of a sprawling multimillion-pound prosecution brought by HM Revenue and Customs into a payroll outsourcing business.
June 07, 2025
Minister Calls For Bold Action To Tackle Court Backlogs

The government must take "bold" steps to implement lasting reforms to tackle persistent backlogs in the criminal courts and deteriorating court conditions, a minister warned on Saturday.
June 06, 2025
Chancery Pauses Meta Privacy Suit For EU, Ireland Actions

A Delaware court on Friday paused a pension fund stockholder suit seeking documents on data privacy violations made by Meta Platforms Inc. that led to a €1.2 billion ($1.4 billion) fine from European authorities.
June 06, 2025
Reality TV Gallery Owner Gets 2½ Years On Terrorism Charges

An art gallery owner and reality TV art expert was sentenced to over two years' imprisonment at a London criminal court on Friday for failing to report his suspicions when selling around £140,000 ($189,400) worth of art to a suspected terrorist financier.
June 06, 2025
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

The past week in London has seen MGM and the owners of the "Addams Family" trademark sue a private equity firm, two Cambridge colleges file for injunctions against Pro-Palestine student protest groups and a former NBA player brings a claim against Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.
June 06, 2025
Poor Productivity Driving Crown Court Backlog, Study Says

Poor productivity has been a "major factor" in the growth of the Crown Court's case backlog since the COVID-19 pandemic, an economic think tank said in a study published Friday.
June 06, 2025
Darts Champ Banned As Director Over Unpaid £450K Tax Bill

A former darts world champion has been banned from running companies for five years after his business failed to pay more than £450,000 ($610,000) in tax, the Insolvency Service has revealed.

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

Answering Key Questions About 2 EU Cybersecurity Laws

As companies work to implement two nascent European Union cybersecurity measures, the Digital Operational Resilience Act and the second Network and Information Security Directive, lawyers at MoFo address nine conceptual questions emerging around their interpretation and compliance obligations.
Industry Input Is Key As EU Weighs New Tariffs On US Trade

The European Commission’s ongoing consultation, which seeks feedback on a proposed expansion of products subject to tariffs and restrictions in retaliation to U.S. tariffs, opens an important opportunity for industry stakeholders to highlight why a scope exclusion is warranted, say lawyers at Crowell & Moring.
What End of Payment Systems Regulator Means For Biz

The U.K. government’s plan to abolish the Payment Systems Regulator and absorb its functions into the Financial Conduct Authority should eventually lighten the compliance burden for businesses under the PSR’s remit, which may in turn encourage growth, but the proposed changes will roll out slowly, say lawyers at Farrer & Co.
Compliance Lessons From Art Dealer's Terror Financing Plea

Regulated businesses can learn from the missteps of a recently convicted London art dealer, who failed to disclose sales to a suspected Hezbollah financier, by implementing compliance measures like anti-terrorism financing screenings as robust as their anti-money laundering policies and training staff to spot red flags, say lawyers at White & Case.
UK Capital Reforms May Help Startup Founders, VC Investors

Hidden in the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority's recent proposals on the definition of capital for investment firms are changes to the eligibility requirements for instruments to be included in a firm's regulatory capital — changes that may reduce the risk of investing, especially in early-stage fintech firms, says Andrew Henderson at Goodwin.
EU Watchdog's ESG Dashboard Raises Transparency Bar

The European Banking Authority’s recently introduced ESG dashboard is a key tool in aligning financial institutions with the European Union's sustainability policies, and fundamentally alters the risk environment by transitioning climate-related data from a compliance afterthought to a core component of strategic decision-making, says Kristýna Tupá at Schönherr.
Whistleblower Rewards May Soon Materialize In UK

Recent government and Serious Fraud Office announcements indicate that the U.K.’s long-standing aversion to rewarding whistleblowers is reversing, underlining the importance for organizations to consider managing misconduct risk and prepare for a potentially significant uptick in tipoffs, says Tom Grodecki at Cadwalader.
High Court Ruling Shows Firm Stance On Procedural Integrity

The recent High Court decision in Qatar Investment v. Phoenix Ancient Art demonstrates its zero tolerance of procedural failure, serving as a reminder that the financial burden associated with document disclosure will not excuse a party’s failure to comply with court orders, say lawyers at Quillon Law.
UK May Play Major Role In Corporate Misconduct Regulation

In light of the U.S.' pause in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement, the U.K. Serious Fraud Office has released new guidance showing it may seize the opportunity to play a heightened role in regulating corporate misconduct by U.S. companies with a global presence, particularly over the next few years, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.
A Shifting Landscape Of Greater Scrutiny After Data Breaches

Recent Information Commissioner's Office fines for personal data breaches and a Home Office consultation signal a shift in the U.K. regulatory landscape, and with an increase in mass actions and resulting exposure, organizations should prepare for potential third-party claims from those incurring consequential losses, say lawyers at Atheria.
What To Note As HM Treasury, FCA Plan New Crypto Regs

Taken together, HM Treasury’s recently proposed crypto-asset regulations and the Financial Conduct Authority’s new discussion paper on regulating crypto-asset activities provide key insights into the government's planned regime, which represents significant changes that will affect all firms providing related services, says Mark Chalmers at Davis Polk.
Tools For Effective Asset Tracking In Offshore Jurisdictions

In light of a technology company's recent allegations that its former CEO maintained an undisclosed interest in offshore companies, practitioners may want to refresh their knowledge of the tool kit available for tracing and recovering allegedly misappropriated assets from both onshore and offshore jurisdictions, say lawyers at Walkers Global.
Guidance Offers Clarity On UK Foreign Influence Registration

The Home Office's recently released guidance on the new Foreign Influence Registration Scheme provides important context for different industries and sectors, highlighting that careful assessment of interactions with foreign entities and governments is needed to determine whether registration is required, say lawyers at Skadden.
FCA Review Highlights Valuation Standards For Private Funds

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent review of private funds valuation practices underscores the increasing importance of conducting robust and independent procedures, offering an opportunity for fund managers to strengthen their current valuation frameworks and improve investor confidence, say lawyers at Greenberg Traurig.
UK Data Disputes Could Become Competition Class Actions

While mass data protection claims have chafed against the procedural restrictions that apply to class actions under U.K. law, it is possible these claims will be brought into the fold of the rapidly growing Competition Appeal Tribunal scene, says Aislinn Kelly-Lyth at Blackstone Chambers.