Corporate Crime & Compliance UK

Insolvency Service Official Explains Economic Crime Shift

The Insolvency Service's evolution into a frontline economic crime enforcer provides the government with an agency with new powers to crack down on fraud, which gives Whitehall a powerful tool to use against unscrupulous directors.

HMRC Tests Tax Evasion Law With 1st Corporate Charge

HMRC's long-awaited decision to charge a company for failing to prevent tax evasion under powers introduced eight years ago will test largely unanswered legal principles and could be a sign of the tax ministry's tougher stance on financial crime, lawyers say.

Man outside a crown court in Southwark holding a disposable coffee cup.

The Biggest UK White Collar Cases Of 2025: Midyear Report

James "Jes" Staley's ill-fated legal battle over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the first conviction secured by Britain's sanctions' enforcer and Tom Hayes' Supreme Court victory are just a few of the big cases from 2025.

View of the sign for a government ministry in Whitehall, London.

Tweaks To AML Regs Offer Flexibility But Only Modest Change

Plans to reform the U.K.'s fight against dirty money promise to cut red tape and strengthen ties between enforcement bodies, but lawyers say they are not convinced the measures will reduce their compliance burden or fundamentally strengthen the regime.

August 15, 2025
Michelle Mone Lawyer Fails To Throw Out Complaint

A lawyer who acted for Michelle Mone has failed to challenge a complaint to the Scottish solicitors' watchdog over his conduct in response to reporting on the Conservative peer's connection with a company that supplied the U.K. government with COVID-19 protective equipment.
August 15, 2025
Pair Ordered To Pay Back €25M Intended For COVID-19 PPE

A London court on Friday ordered two people to pay back more than €25 million ($29 million) they borrowed to purchase personal protective equipment, intending to create lucrative contracts with the Spanish government during the COVID-19 pandemic.
August 15, 2025
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen Transport for London hit with a procurement claim by the operator of Oyster card, while Mastercard and Visa face claims from the Rocco Forte Hotel Group, and Liverpool Football Club lobbed a claim against a security company.
August 15, 2025
Engineer Fired After Raising Gas Safety Concerns Wins £66K

An employment tribunal has ordered an energy infrastructure company to pay a former chief engineer more than £66,000 ($89,500) for unfairly firing him after he raised concerns with a job to replace gas mains in London.
August 15, 2025
SRA Fines Regional Law Firm Over AML Failures

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has fined an English law firm £2,809 ($3,800) after finding it failed to comply with anti-money laundering regulations for almost eight years.
August 14, 2025
Scale Of Fraud A 'National Security Threat,' Think Tank Warns

Real-time data-sharing between law enforcement and the private sector is crucial for tracing the proceeds of financial crime at a time when the scale of fraud in the U.K. might constitute "a national security threat," a think tank said Thursday.
August 14, 2025
Trustees Warned To Follow Rules Or Face Jail, Fines

The Pensions Regulator on Thursday warned pension scheme trustees that they face large fines or even jail if they flout investment rules designed to protect savers.
August 14, 2025
Ex-Director Accused Of Diverting £1M From Property Firm

A defunct property developer has alleged that its former director stripped it of cash by handing out more than £1.3 million ($1.8 million) of the company's assets as interest-free and unsecured loans to another business he directed.
August 14, 2025
Workplace Safety Regulator To Probe Reality TV Star's Death

Britain's regulator for workplace health and safety will take over the investigation into the death of a former reality TV personality who fell to his death.
August 13, 2025
UK Gains Interpol Notice Against Fugitive Behind £64M Fraud

British police said Wednesday that they've secured an international notice against the fugitive mastermind behind a Ponzi scheme to help trace and recover part of the £64 million ($86 million) he owes investors.
August 13, 2025
EU Trade Body Urges Change To DORA Financial Reporting

A trade body for Europe's financial institutions has urged European Union watchdogs to change rules on incident reporting because banks are providing ineffective reports.
August 13, 2025
Charity Director Avoids Prison In Terrorism Sanctions Case

The director of a charity sanctioned for her ties to a pro-Hamas news outlet was given a suspended prison sentence on Wednesday in the first prosecution of an individual for failing to adequately respond to a request for information by Britain's sanctions enforcer.
August 13, 2025
UK Watchdog Proposes More Targeted Audit Supervision

The U.K.'s accounting watchdog proposed Wednesday a more targeted approach to supervising audits, backed by greater reliance on firms to take responsibility for a quality-orientated culture.
August 13, 2025
UK Employers Targeted By Foreign Worker Sponsorship Scam

U.K. organizations that sponsor overseas workers have been targeted by fraudsters posing as the Home Office and using a sophisticated phishing scam to steal sensitive data, according to cybersecurity company Mimecast.
August 13, 2025
Machinery Biz FD Gets 11-Year Ban For £1.5M Undeclared Tax

A former financial director of a machinery business has been banned from the profession for 11 years for submitting false value-added tax returns over three years and leaving more than £1.5 million ($2 million) undeclared to HM Revenue and Customs.
August 12, 2025
EBA Report Says Latest Tech Needed To Fight Financial Crime

The European Banking Authority emphasized Tuesday that cutting-edge technology like artificial intelligence is necessary to keep up with financial crime, in a report that found adoption of new tech across the European Union to be patchy.
August 12, 2025
Financial Data Provider Sues Rival For Database Theft

A financial data provider has accused a former product director at one of its subsidiaries of copying a valuable database on infrastructure and energy deals in order to launch a rival platform.
August 12, 2025
SRA Fines Law Firms For Money Laundering Risk Failures

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has fined a law firm £25,000 ($34,000) and another more than £12,400 because of their failure to comply with anti-money laundering regulations and carry out suitable firm-wide risk assessments.
August 12, 2025
Solicitor Who Misled Tribunal About His Finances Struck Off

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal struck off on Tuesday a disability rights lawyer who did not disclose the proceeds of the sale of his home in earlier disciplinary proceedings.
August 11, 2025
Wikipedia Loses Legal Challenge Over UK Online Safety Act

The charity behind Wikipedia lost a challenge to the Online Safety Act on Monday after claiming that the online encyclopedia could be lumbered with unmanageable duties aimed at regulating social media giants and viral content.
August 11, 2025
SRA Says Lawyer Misled Tribunal About His Finances

A disability rights lawyer lied to a tribunal by not disclosing the proceeds of the sale of his home in earlier disciplinary proceedings brought against him, the Solicitors Regulation Authority said Monday.
August 11, 2025
UK Opt-Out Claims Surge To €77B Amid Class Action Boom

There was "extraordinary" growth in class actions in the U.K. and across Europe in 2024 as new procedural mechanisms were introduced in different jurisdictions and claimant firms acted aggressively, CMS said Monday.
August 11, 2025
Gov't To Tighten Appointed Reps Regime To Stop Misconduct

The U.K. government said Monday it will empower the Financial Conduct Authority to refuse firms permission to use appointed representatives, in a tightening of the regime to stop misconduct.
August 08, 2025
FCA Finds Directors Breaching Policies On Unrecorded Calls

The Financial Conduct Authority has found in a review that wholesale banks are identifying breaches of internal policies on unmonitored communication, particularly by senior individuals.
August 08, 2025
Chelsea Group Claims Bribery Tainted $20M Greensill Deal

A Cyprus-based group of companies has denied owing $20.6 million to UBS' asset management unit from a supply chain finance deal with the now-defunct Greensill Capital, arguing that the deal was rescinded because it was tainted by bribery.

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

What EU GPAI Compliance Code Will Mean For Developers

The European Union recently released a code of practice to guide compliance for general purpose artificial intelligence models, offering early adopters regulatory deference, but posing timing concerns and significant costs burdens that may discourage smaller developers, say lawyers at Perkins Coie.
How Top Court Ruling Limits Scope Of Motor Finance Claims

The U.K. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in a landmark case concerning car finance commissions clarifies when and how a dealership’s fiduciary duties arise, considerably narrowing that path for mass consumer litigation and highlighting how an upcoming Financial Conduct Authority redress scheme will seek to balance consumer, lender and market interests, say lawyers at Cadwalader.
FCA Misconduct Guide Will Expand Firms' Duty To Investigate

The Financial Conduct Authority's recent proposals on workplace nonfinancial misconduct will place a greater onus on compliance and investigations teams, clarifying that the question to ascertain is whether the behavior is justifiable and proportionate, say lawyers at Ashurst.
Lessons From Landmark UK Supreme Court Libor Ruling

The U.K. Supreme Court’s recent quashing of former traders Hayes and Palombo’s interest rate rigging convictions on the ground of jury misdirection raises concerns about failings in the criminal appeal process, and whether encouraging institutions to accept regulatory settlements can create conditions for miscarriages of justice, says Ellen Gallagher at Vardags.
The Int'l Compliance View: Everything Everywhere All At Once

Changes to the enforcement landscape in the U.S. and abroad shift the risks and incentives for global compliance programs, creating a race against the clock for companies to deploy investigative resources across worldwide operations, say attorneys at Dentons.
Why Leveson Review Is Significant For UK Court System

Brian Leveson’s recent review into the U.K. criminal justice system calls for judge-only trials in serious and complex fraud cases, a controversial recommendation that is sparking debate over the future of jury trials, says Louise Hodges at Kingsley Napley.
23andMe Fine Signals ICO's New GDPR Enforcement Focus

Many of the cybersecurity failures identified by the Information Commissioner’s Office in its investigation of 23andMe, recently resulting in a £2.3 million fine, were basic lapses, but the ICO's focus on several new U.K. General Data Protection Regulation considerations will likely carry into the future, say lawyers at Womble Bond.
What New UK Stub Equity Rules Will Mean For PE Bidders

The U.K. Takeover Panel’s recent guide to making stub equity offers, for the first time formally harmonizing the approach to be taken, should be helpful for both private equity bidders and practitioners, and not unduly restrictive, say lawyers at Davis Polk.
UK FDI Enforcement Continues, But Changes Are On The Way

With the U.K. government’s recent foreign direct investment investigation into Maple Armor’s increased shareholding in Fireblitz demonstrating the National Security and Investment Act’s wide scope, an announcement this month that certain transactions will no longer require mandatory notification represents a welcome simplification, says Matthew Hall at McGuireWoods.
What Cos. Must Note From EU's Delivery Hero-Glovo Ruling

The European Commission’s recent landmark decision in Delivery Hero-Glovo, sanctioning companies for the first time over a stand-alone no-poach cartel agreement, underscores the potential antitrust risks of horizontal cross-ownership between competitors, say lawyers at McDermott.
What To Expect As FCA Preps To Launch AI Testing Service

The Financial Conduct Authority’s forthcoming artificial intelligence live testing service will provide participants with access to appropriate regulatory expertise, but to gauge the tool’s potential utility, it is important to understand how it fits in with what the regulator is already doing, says Omar Salem at Fox Williams.
New Interpol Silver Notice Could Be Tool For Justice Or Abuse

Interpol has issued dozens of Silver Notices to trace and recover assets linked to criminal activity since January, and though the tool may disrupt organized crime and terrorist financing, attorneys must protect against the potential for corrupt misuse, say attorneys at Clark Hill and Arktouros.
Weighing PE Transaction Risks As EU AI Act Rolls Out

As the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act becomes effective in stages, legal practitioners involved in private equity deals should consider the transactional risks resulting from this measure, including penalties, extraterritorial reach and target-firm applicability, say lawyers at Covington.
Preparing For Literacy Compliance Under EU AI Act

The European Commission's recent Q&A on artificial intelligence literacy is designed to assist with European Union AI Act compliance, but since the law does not require a one-size-fits-all approach, organizations need to consider specific use cases and focus on implementing staff training, says Edward Machin at Ropes & Gray.
EU Banking Watchdog Regulations Herald New AML Era

The European Banking Authority’s forthcoming anti-money laundering package will set a framework for compliance across the European Union by redefining the rules of engagement between financial institutions and supervisors, setting a new standard for transparency and accountability, say lawyers at A&O Shearman.