Corporate Crime & Compliance UK

bitcoin symbol atop a stack of gold coins

UK Crypto-Seizure Tees Up £5.5B Legal Battle With China

The record capture by British police of £5.5 billion ($7.4 billion) in cryptocurrency from a convicted money launderer has set up a mammoth legal showdown between the U.K. and defrauded investors, who say the money should be returned to victims in China.

FCA's Crypto-Rules Risk Abuse Without Tailored Safeguards

The proposed U.K. crypto-asset regime risks abuse because it tries to clamp traditional finance rules on to a digital asset class, leaving gaps which expose unwary investors to criminals unless new safeguards are added, legal experts have warned.

The crest on the building of a crown court in Southwark.

SFO Gears Up For Fight Over Ex-Petrobras Exec Cash Seizure

The Serious Fraud Office will fight on Monday to hold on to its largest-ever seizure of cash as part of the first-ever legal challenge contesting the agency's powers to confiscate allegedly tainted money.

Image of the High Court in London, taken from below.

Litigation Conduct Ruling Sparks 'Major Fear' For Lawyers

A recent High Court decision that unqualified employees of law firms are prohibited from conducting litigation has caused "major fear" among lawyers and created uncertainty about firms' profitability, the training of new talent, access to justice and even the use of artificial intelligence in legal practice.

October 02, 2025
Russia Claims Fraud Tainted $63B Yukos Arbitration Awards

Russia has told a London court that a $63 billion arbitration award to investors in Yukos Oil is unenforceable because the investors obtained it by concealing documents and bribing a witness.
October 02, 2025
BA Rejects Passengers' Data-Breach Claims As 'Unarguable'

British Airways has hit back at claims from thousands of customers who allege that the airline failed to protect their personal data from a cyberattack, arguing that the claims are time-barred and not well founded.
October 02, 2025
Groups Want Treasury Flexibility On Overseas Equivalence

U.K. and European financial services trade bodies have asked HM Treasury to take a flexible approach in recognizing overseas regimes as effectively "equivalent" to allow overseas firms access to U.K. customers, with a year's notice of withdrawal.
October 02, 2025
Commerzbank Says Analyst Made Bogus Harassment Claims

Commerzbank urged a London judge on Thursday to find a former analyst was in contempt for making "wholly bogus" allegations of sexual harassment in an employment tribunal against his former colleagues.
October 02, 2025
Deutsche Sued By Bankers Tied To Monte Dei Paschi Case

Deutsche Bank has been hit with legal claims in London by five former employees who were convicted and subsequently acquitted for aiding false accounting and market manipulation in one of Italy's biggest financial sandals, according to High Court filings published Tuesday.
October 02, 2025
Denmark Loses £1.4B Cum-Ex Fraud Case Against UK Trader

Denmark lost on Thursday its £1.4 billion ($1.9 billion) legal claim against scores of traders and financial institutions over a cum-ex tax fraud it said was orchestrated by convicted hedge fund trader Sanjay Shah.
October 01, 2025
Daily Mail Publisher Seeks To Contain Celebs' Privacy Claims

The publisher of U.K. tabloid The Daily Mail sought to prune claims brought by public figures including Prince Harry over alleged unlawful information-gathering techniques, arguing Wednesday that they should be restricted to specific allegations of wrongdoing.
October 01, 2025
Law Firm Denies Liability Over Fraudulent Property Deal

A regional law firm said it should not be liable to pay nearly £1 million ($1.35 million) to a property developer for representing a fraudster posing as the owner of a London property, saying it believed the sale was a genuine transaction.
October 01, 2025
FCA Gives Chancellor 4-Point Plan For Consumer Duty

The Financial Conduct Authority has given the chancellor of the exchequer a four-part plan to change the Consumer Duty, with additional legislative steps for the Treasury to take, setting out its proposals in a letter published Wednesday.
October 01, 2025
FRC Eyes Public, Accelerated Action For Audit Breaches

The accounting watchdog set out proposals on Wednesday to enhance its enforcement approach, introducing new options for more targeted and faster action against auditors that break the rules, including publication of cases it has pursued.
October 01, 2025
Bank CEO Cleared Of Dishonestly Assisting £415M Tax Fraud

A Caribbean bank and its former chief executive have been cleared of dishonestly assisting a £415 million ($558 million) value-added tax fraud as a London court ruled that he did not know about the scheme to defraud tax authorities.
October 01, 2025
Betfred Operator Hit With Fine For Misleading Slot Practices

The gambling watchdog revealed Wednesday that it has hit the online gambling company which runs Betfred with a £240,000 ($324,000) fine for operating slot games that celebrated losses as wins and failed to show customers their total winnings versus losses.
September 30, 2025
Credit Suisse Aided Looting Of Tech Exec's Stock, Suit Says

The co-founder of sensing-tech company Aeva Technologies says Credit Suisse provided "institutional cover" to conspirators who stole tens of millions of dollars in Aeva shares from him in what he described as a "calculated, multi-year orchestrated racketeering scheme," according to a suit filed Tuesday in New York federal court.
September 30, 2025
Data Biz Exec Denies Helping To Hide Property Mogul Assets

A data center executive has denied conspiring to hide assets belonging to property mogul Andrew Ruhan from the liquidators of a hotel company, telling a London court that Ruhan's employment at his company was not a sham.
September 30, 2025
Pharma Supplier Hit With Fine For Russian Sanctions Breach

Britain's sanctions watchdog revealed on Tuesday that it has fined a subsidiary of global pharmaceutical supplier Colorcon Inc. £152,750 ($206,000) for breaching sanctions against Russia by paying thousands of pounds to employees in Moscow.
September 30, 2025
Briton Who Beat Extradition To Be Sentenced For Crypto-Theft

A London criminal court told a British man Tuesday that he will be sentenced in December for stealing millions of pounds worth of cryptocurrency, more than two years after he avoided extradition to the U.S.
September 30, 2025
FCA Staffer Axed For Harassment Loses Fair Trial Appeal

A London appeals judge rejected an argument on Tuesday from a former employee of the Financial Conduct Authority that an earlier tribunal had denied him a fair trial in his unfair dismissal claim against the watchdog.
September 30, 2025
Ex-Havilland CEO Knew Of Qatar Currency Plot, FCA Says

The former chief executive of Banque Havilland's U.K. branch must have known about the content of a presentation outlining a plan to devalue Qatar's currency, the Financial Conduct Authority told the closing stages of an appeal hearing at a tribunal Tuesday.
September 30, 2025
Fixer Admits Money Laundering In £5B Crypto-Fraud Case

A fixer for a Chinese woman who fled her country amid allegations of fraud admitted at a London court Tuesday to laundering cryptocurrency on her behalf, after police said they had seized £5.5 billion ($7.4 billion) in virtual currency in its investigation into the case.
September 30, 2025
Ex-Law Firm Paralegal Barred After £11K Theft From Clients

A former paralegal sentenced to prison for stealing more than £11,000 ($14,785) from two vulnerable clients has been banned by the solicitors' regulator.
September 30, 2025
New UK Task Force To Investigate COVID Loan Fraud

HM Treasury has unveiled plans for a new investigations team backed with £17.5 million ($23.5 million) of government funding that will have the power to issue "huge fines" to go after those who abused COVID-19 bounce back loans.
September 30, 2025
6 In 10 SMEs Hit By Cyberattack In 2025, Hiscox Says

Some 59% of small and midsized enterprises have said they experienced a cyberattack in the last year, Hiscox said Tuesday, highlighting the evolving threat posed by criminals adapting to new technologies to exploit businesses.
September 29, 2025
Woman Cops To Money Laundering In £5B Crypto-Fraud Case

A Chinese woman who fled her country amid allegations she defrauded 128,000 people pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in London on Monday as police said they seized a record £5.5 billion ($7.4 billion) in cryptocurrency.
September 29, 2025
SFO Denies $7.7M Seizure From Ex-Petrobras Exec Is Political

The Serious Fraud Office defended on Monday its $7.7 million seizure from a former Petrobras executive, telling a court that the case was rooted in evidence of corruption and not as a "catspaw" influenced by shifting political winds in Brazil.
September 29, 2025
EuroChem Can Appeal €212M Bond Ruling Over EU Sanctions

A London court granted EuroChem permission on Monday to appeal against a ruling that Société Générale and Dutch lender ING rightly refused to pay out on €212 million ($249 million) worth of bonds to the agricultural chemicals company's Russian subsidiary.

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

Supreme Court Ruling Stands Firm On Trust Law Principles

The U.K. Supreme Court’s recent strict application of trust law in Stevens v. Hotel Portfolio may render it more difficult for lawyers in future cases to make arguments based on a holistic assessment of the facts, says Olivia Retter at Quinn Emanuel.
FCA's Woodford Fine Sends Warning To Fund Managers

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent decisions concerning Neil Woodford and the collapse of Woodford Investment Management mark an important moment for the U.K. investment industry, underscoring the regulator's focus on senior managers' personal accountability and the importance of putting investors’ interests at the heart of decision-making, say lawyers at Irwin Mitchell.
How Data Use Act Tightens Complaint Handling Procedures

Recently effective Data Use Act procedural requirements are coinciding with an artificial intelligence-driven increase in complaints from users about data subject access request responses, so organizations need to formalize their grievance process to prevent intervention by the Information Commissioner's Office and potential penalties, say lawyers at Womble Bond.
UK Supreme Court Dissent May Spark Sanctions Debate

While the recent U.K. Supreme Court's rejection of Eugene Shvidler’s appeal determined that sanctions decisions are primarily the government’s preserve, Justice Leggatt’s dissenting view that judges are better placed to assess proportionality will cause ripples and may mark a material shift in how future appeals are approached, say lawyers at Seladore.
What EBA Report Means For Non-EU Financial Firms

In a recent report concerning unregulated third country banks, the European Banking Authority decided not to extend a bank-to-bank exemption under the Capital Requirements Directive, raising a number of compliance issues for cross-border services, say lawyers at A&O Shearman.
HMRC's Automation Shift Likely To Alter Tax Adviser Role

HM Revenue & Customs’ recently released digital transformation road map promises greater efficiency and a modernized compliance regime, but the increased automation could also mean that the tax adviser role will become more proactive and more defensive, say lawyers at RPC.
What UK's New Prosecution Guidance Means For Compliance

Recent guidance from the U.K.'s Serious Fraud Office and Crown Prosecution Service, aligning their approach with the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, offers a timely prompt for corporate boards and legal teams to update their risk management frameworks, say lawyers at Signature Litigation.
Viral Comms Crises Create Dual Corp. Governance Threats

As legislative hearings increase in frequency and social media fuels their reputational impact, corporate legal teams face a new dual challenge that reflects a fundamental shift in accountability and demands new strategies, governance frameworks and organizational capabilities, says Joanna Ludlam at Jenner & Block.
How AI May Have Made A Difference In Monzo Bank Breaches

Artificial intelligence tools have the capabilities needed to keep pace with increasingly sophisticated threats, and such tools might have helped prevent the anti-money laundering failures that led to the recent £21.1 million fine against Monzo Bank, says Alexander Vilardo at Howard Kennedy.
A Softer Tack For Online Ads Marks Next Step In Data Reform

While the initiative of the U.K. Information Commissioner's Office to relax enforcement of advertising cookie consent represents a welcome attempt to balance privacy protection and commercial realities, several questions remain that will limit companies' ability to benefit from the U.K. proposals, say lawyers at Skadden.
CMA App Store Mandates Fall Short Of Regulatory Ambitions

The Competition and Markets Authority's recent proposals to loosen Google and Apple’s mobile platform duopoly are a far cry from the assertive and wide-reaching interventions that advocates of the Digital Markets Unit had hoped to see from the new competition regulator, says Ronan Scanlan at Steptoe.
Catching Up On Simplified EU Sustainability Disclosure Rules

A recent proposal to streamline implementation of the EU’s Taxonomy Regulation contains measures that would reduce companies’ sustainable investment reporting and compliance requirements, and better support the EU’s climate and environmental goals, say lawyers at Proskauer.
Cos. Must Take Action As Corporate Enforcement Evolves

The Serious Fraud Office's renewed vigor toward proactive corporate enforcement, as evidenced by its recently affirmed commitment to collaboration with the U.S. on cross-border investigations, means that organizations must solidify their antibribery and corruption frameworks to remain ahead of fast-moving regulatory and legislative initiatives, say lawyers at Weil.
UK Reforms Investment Rules, But Clarity Concerns Remain

The U.K. government’s recent reforms to the National Security and Investment Act 2021 demonstrate a continuing pragmatic approach by requiring fewer deal filings, but the regime would benefit from more clarity in key areas, say lawyers at McDermott.
Fraud Law Puts Fund Managers Under Compliance Spotlight

The new failure to prevent fraud offense, effective Sept. 1, may not represent a material departure from most managers’ duties to exercise due care in preventing loss to the assets they manage, but the prospect of criminal liability should sharpen their compliance focus, says Andrew Henderson at Goodwin Procter.