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Corporate Crime & Compliance UK
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July 31, 2024
Ex-Fieldfisher Lawyer Says Sex Assault Claim Was Conspiracy
A former senior associate at Fieldfisher LLP sacked over sexual harassment allegations told a tribunal Wednesday that a "group of close friends" had conspired to falsely accuse him of sexually assaulting a co-worker in a toilet during a work event.
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July 31, 2024
SFO Eyes Potential £237M Legal Bill For ENRC Misconduct
The Serious Fraud Office has registered a potential £237.7 million ($305 million) payment to ENRC for damages over findings that its officers encouraged a former partner at Dechert LLP to divulge confidential information about alleged corruption at the Kazakh miner.
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July 31, 2024
Gov't Plans Backstop Legislation To Tackle Audit Backlog
The new Labour government said Wednesday it is preparing legislation to introduce a statutory backstop as the U.K. faces a growing backlog of audits of local authorities.
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July 31, 2024
FCA Maintains Restrictions On London Stone Securities
The Financial Conduct Authority said Wednesday that it will continue to restrict London Stone Securities, preventing the wealth manager from conducting any regulated activities because of serious concerns that it is not delivering good results for clients.
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July 30, 2024
Consumers Can Appeal Some Blocked UK Mastercard Claims
The United Kingdom's specialty antitrust court gave the go-ahead Tuesday for a partial appeal of its June decision scrubbing as time-barred a swath of claims from a £10 billion ($12.7 billion) class action against Mastercard, while concluding some grounds of appeal have no "real prospect of success."
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July 30, 2024
UK Healthcare Ex-Directors Banned For £30M In Unpaid Taxes
Two former directors of a defunct U.K. healthcare company are banned from holding executive positions at any business after failing to pay more than £30 million ($38.5 million) in taxes, the government's insolvency agency said Tuesday.
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July 30, 2024
Misleading Invoices Rose 63% In Last Year, IPO Warns
The Intellectual Property Office issued a fresh warning Tuesday for customers to beware of unsolicited payment requests typically in the form of invoices for trademark, design or patent services.
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July 30, 2024
Fieldfisher Defends Lawyer's Sacking Over Sexual Misconduct
A Fieldfisher LLP partner who sacked a senior associate over sexual harassment allegations told a tribunal Tuesday she stood by her decision as she gave evidence against the lawyer who claimed that he had been unfairly dismissed.
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July 30, 2024
NCA Ducks Litigation Risk In 1st Seizure Of Sanctioned Assets
The decision by the National Crime Agency to secure the forfeiture of the assets of a sanctioned Russian oligarch is a pragmatic victory that avoids the risk of setting a damaging legal precedent, lawyers say.
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July 30, 2024
Bahraini Dissidents Say Bugging Case Belongs In England
Two Bahraini dissidents urged a London appeals court Tuesday to uphold a ruling that the Gulf state cannot block them from suing it for allegedly infecting their computers with spyware because the hacking took place in the U.K.
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July 30, 2024
Forsters Pro Ducks Liability In Fight Over Billionaire's Estate
A Forsters LLP private wealth solicitor cannot be held personally liable while he represents the estate of a Russian oligarch in a dispute over his $3.7 billion fortune unless the lawyer's actions are dishonest or fraudulent, a London court has ruled.
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July 30, 2024
Bank Of England Plans New Scrutiny Of Foreign Banks In UK
The Bank of England's regulatory arm proposed Tuesday new requirements for overseas banks with U.K. operations, to help detect some risks to financial stability that had arisen in the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank UK, sold to HSBC.
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July 30, 2024
ENRC Founder's Daughter Poised To Quash SFO Conviction
The Serious Fraud Office said Tuesday that it will not contest an appeal by the daughter of one of the founders of Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. against her conviction for failing to hand over documents in the agency's corruption investigation into the Kazakh mining company.
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July 30, 2024
FCA Could Extend Deadline On Motor Finance Complaints
Britain's financial watchdog is considering whether to extend the deadline for motor finance companies to deal with complaints from customers about commission arrangements while the regulator investigates whether past deals were compliant with a 2021 ban.
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July 30, 2024
Katie Price Faces Arrest For Not Attending Bankruptcy Hearing
A London judge issued a warrant on Tuesday for the arrest of Katie Price after the former model failed again to attend a court hearing in connection with her bankruptcies.
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July 29, 2024
BofA, Citi Among Banks In $80M Deal To End Bond-Rig Suit
Units of Bank of America, Citigroup and other banking giants have agreed to pay $80 million to settle investor claims accusing them of conspiring to fix European government bond prices.
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July 29, 2024
Crypto Investors Get Provisional OK For £9B Binance Claim
Binance Holdings Ltd. must face a £9 billion ($11.5 billion) proposed class action brought by investors after a tribunal dismissed the cryptocurrency exchange's bid to strike out the claim, finding the evidence "just about" shows the case has a realistic chance of success.
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July 29, 2024
News Group Agrees To Seek 'Fake Security Threat' Evidence
The U.K. arm of Rupert Murdoch's news empire agreed in a London court Monday to search for more information related to an alleged "fake security threat" used to destroy evidence of unlawful information gathering techniques by journalists in a disclosure battle with two senior politicians.
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July 29, 2024
Top Corporate Crime Cases To Watch For The Rest Of 2024
The Serious Fraud Office's intention to charge individuals with bribery over Glencore's dealings in Nigeria, a major bitcoin money laundering trial and the ongoing legal battles between ENRC and the SFO are some of the major white-collar crime cases on the horizon.
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July 29, 2024
Bahrain Revives Immunity Bid In Dissident Spyware Case
Bahrain told an appeals court Monday that state immunity prevents two dissidents from suing the Gulf state in England to claim it infected their computers with malware to spy on them, because not all the alleged acts took place in the U.K.
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July 29, 2024
Saudi Investor Revives $5M Legal Costs Claim Against RLS
A London court has revived a negligence claim brought by a Saudi Arabian property investor against a law firm for the costs of investigating and litigating an alleged £35 million ($45 million) fraud, finding that an earlier settlement does not block him bringing the allegations.
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July 29, 2024
Zurich Invests $60M In Cyber Insurance Provider For SMEs
Swiss insurance giant Zurich has invested $60 million in Cowbell, a provider of cyberinsurance for small businesses, the digital risk company said, amid growing industry concerns over cyberthreats.
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July 29, 2024
FCA Weighs Taking Protection From Some Insurance Clients
The Financial Conduct Authority proposed on Monday a change to the criteria of classifying a small business as a commercial insurance client by removing consumer protection rules from some firms when they buy insurance products.
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July 29, 2024
NCA Seizes Assets As Russian Oligarch Ends Sanctions Fight
The National Crime Agency seized more than £768,000 ($986,000) belonging to Russian oligarch Petr Aven on Monday after reaching a settlement in its first attempt to recover frozen assets linked to suspected sanctions evasion since sweeping restrictions came into force.
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July 29, 2024
Mozambique Claims Victory In UK Tuna Bond Scandal Case
Mozambique largely won its mammoth corruption claim against a shipbuilding company on Monday over a bribery scheme used to pay kickbacks to public officials to tie it into a financing package for a tuna fishing fleet that wrecked the southern African country's economy.
Expert Analysis
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What Extension Of French FDI Control Means For Investors
The recently published French order on foreign investment control expands the regime's application to more sectors and at a lower threshold of share ownership, illustrating France's determination to maintain sovereignty over its supply chains in sensitive sectors, and adding new considerations for potential investors in these areas, say lawyers at Linklaters.
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What To Expect For Private Capital Investment Funds In 2024
As 2024 gets underway, market sentiment in the private fundraising sphere seems more optimistic, with a greater focus on deal sourcing and operational optimizations, and an increased emphasis on impact and sustainability strategies, say lawyers at Ropes & Gray.
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Cayman Islands Off AML Risk Lists, Signaling Robust Controls
As a world-leading jurisdiction for securitization special purpose entities, the removal of the Cayman Islands from increased anti-money laundering monitoring lists is a significant milestone that will benefit new and existing financial services customers conducting business in the territory, say lawyers at Walkers Global.
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EU Report Is A Valuable Guide For Data Controllers
The European Data Protection Board recently published a study of cases handled by national supervisory authorities where uniform application of the General Data Protection Regulation was prioritized, providing data controllers with arguments for an adequate response to manage liability in case of a breach and useful insights into how security requirements are assessed, say Thibaut D'hulst and Malik Aouadi at Van Bael.
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UK Court Ruling Reinforces CMA's Info-Gathering Powers
An English appeals court's recent decision in the BMW and Volkswagen antitrust cases affirmed that the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority can request information from entities outside the U.K., reinstating an important implement in the CMA's investigative toolkit, say lawyers at White & Case.
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Cos. Should Plan Now For Extensive EU Data Act Obligations
The recently enacted EU Data Act imposes wide-ranging requirements across industries and enterprises of all sizes, and with less than 20 months until the provisions begin to apply, businesses planning compliance will need to incorporate significant product changes and revision of contract terms, say Nick Banasevic, Robert Spano and Ciara O'Gara at Gibson Dunn.
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How Decision On A Key Definition Affects SMEs
The Financial Conduct Authority's decision not to extend the definition of small and midsized enterprises may benefit banks and finance providers in the current high interest rate environment and where SMEs in certain sectors may be under financial pressure in light of the cost-of-living crisis in order to streamline it, says Rachael Healey at RPC.
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Together, GDPR And AI Act Can Boost Digital Rights In EU
The overlap between the General Data Protection Regulation and the forthcoming EU Artificial Intelligence Act is intriguing in that it demonstrates a shared commitment to upholding individual digital rights, and understanding this synergy is paramount in comprehending how the two domains can work in tandem, says Maria Moloney at PrivacyEngine.
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Acquisition Of AI Tech Poses Challenges For Media Industry
The artificial intelligence regulatory landscape is changing quickly, and media and entertainment companies planning to acquire AI technology through a merger, acquisition or licensing deal should be mindful of potential new compliance requirements and AI-specific insurance products, say lawyers at Covington.
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What Extending Corporate Liability Will Mean For Foreign Cos.
Certain sections of the Economic Crime Act enacted in December 2023 make it easier to prosecute companies for economic crimes committed abroad, and organizations need to consider their exposure and the new ways they can be held liable for the actions of their personnel, say Dan Hudson at Seladore Legal and Christopher Coltart at 2 Hare Court.
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Due Diligence Pointers After Entain Deferred Prosecution Deal
The Crown Prosecution Service's £615 million settlement with Entain last month signifies that the CPS is a serious enforcer of corporate crime, and illustrates the importance of carrying out a tailored risk assessment in preparation for and following an acquisition, say Matthew Cowie and Aziz Rahman at Rahman Ravelli.
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A Consequential Moment For Sanctions Activity
It is clear from the U.K. Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation's review of the 2022-2023 financial year that the unprecedented scale of designated persons and the value of assets frozen as a result has placed enormous pressure on OFSI and its partners, say lawyers at Greenberg Traurig.
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ECJ Ruling Triggers Reconsiderations Of Using AI In Hiring
A recent European Court of Justice ruling, clarifying that the General Data Protection Regulation could apply to decisions made by artificial intelligence, serves as a warning to employers, as the use of AI in recruitment may lead to more discrimination claims, say Dino Wilkinson and James Major at Clyde & Co.
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Economic Crime Act Offers Welcome Reform To AML Regime
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act exemption for mixed-property transactions that came into force on Jan. 15 as part of the U.K.'s anti-money laundering regime is long overdue, and should end economic harm to businesses, giving banks confidence to adopt a more pragmatic approach, say Matthew Getz and Joseph Fox-Davies at Pallas Partners.
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3 Financial Services Hot Topics To Watch In 2024
Technology, ESG and private markets are set to have the greatest impact on financial markets in 2024, as firms grapple with increasing regulatory change and a shifting political backdrop on both sides of the Atlantic, says Matthew Allen at Eversheds Sutherland.