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Financial Services UK

  • Featured

    Questions Linger After Early Win For New UK Dirty Money Law

    By Richard Crump

    A London court has dismissed the first challenge to new "dirty money" powers that allow British authorities to force wealthy people to explain how they obtained their riches if the wealth is suspected to be the proceeds of crime, but lawyers are unsure how effective the new enforcement tool will be.

  • October 19, 2018

    Jury Hears Ex-Barclays Trader's Worries As Gov't Case Ends

    Jurors in the antitrust trial of three former foreign exchange traders for Citigroup, Barclays PLC and JPMorgan Chase & Co. units on Friday heard a recording of a former Barclays trader voice concern about his allegedly collusive trading behavior in the forex market as prosecutors wrapped up their witness testimony.

  • October 19, 2018

    Qatari Bank Demands €5M Or Yacht Sale Over Defaulted Loan

    A Qatari-owned bank is suing the owners of a yacht known as the Force India in the English courts in an effort to recover around €5.2 million ($6 million) it says it is owed under a loan deal with Gizmo Invest SA, a Luxembourg-based entity.

  • October 19, 2018

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

    The last week has seen Allianz sue Maersk, a Barclays request to transfer part of its banking business and another filing between two sides fighting over payouts from a £200 million RBS rights holders settlement. Here, Law360 looks at those and other new claims in the U.K.

  • October 19, 2018

    Singapore Bank Sues For $9.2M, Calling Cargo Docs Bogus

    A Singapore-based bank has filed a lawsuit in London against commodities exporter Global TradingLinks, seeking over $9 million in damages that it claims to have suffered as a result of deception in the paperwork supporting a trade deal.

  • October 19, 2018

    Global Watchdog Paves Way For Cryptocurrency Regulation

    The international anti-money laundering watchdog said on Friday that national regulators will supervise cryptocurrency exchanges and wallet providers, in a landmark move that will bring virtual assets under regulation in order to prevent criminals from using them to launder money and fund terrorism.

  • October 19, 2018

    PE Firms Win £7.4M Costs After Greek Telco Ends €1B Suit

    Liquidators for a failed Greek telecommunications company must pay £7.4 million ($9.6 million) in costs to dozens of individuals and businesses connected to private equity firms Apax and TPG, a judge in London ruled, finding that the liquidators’ decision to suddenly abandon their lawsuit against the two companies made the case one of an "extraordinary nature."

  • October 19, 2018

    Small UK Firms Face Cybercrime Onslaught, Hiscox Says

    Small businesses in the U.K. are being hit with 65,000 attempted cyberattacks every day, costing them £25,700 ($33,500) a year to clean up, according to a study released by global insurer Hiscox, which said the sector was a "hot target."

  • October 18, 2018

    Fintech Cops Urged To Play Nice, But Sandbox Is A Hard Sell

    A recent Treasury Department report proposed a host of ideas for boosting development in America's financial technology sector and keeping it globally competitive, including a "sandbox" for experimenting with new products and services, but experts say a morass of regulatory agencies makes building such a playground difficult in the U.S.

  • October 18, 2018

    Quidnet Capital Scoffs At Sloppy-Work Claims In £6.4M Suit

    British asset manager Quidnet Capital has mocked allegations that it carried out inadequate construction work, leveled by five firms that it has sued for £6.4 million ($8.4 million), calling the claims "embarrassing" in their lack of detail.

  • October 18, 2018

    Data Watchdog Scrutinizing Grant Thornton Over Memo Leak

    The U.K.’s data protection watchdog confirmed Thursday that it is investigating the leak of an anonymous memo to the media that details the performance review of audit firm Grant Thornton’s chief executive, who left her job this week.

  • October 18, 2018

    FCA Tells Groups To Cough Up For £1.65M AML Unit

    The Financial Conduct Authority said on Thursday that professional bodies must each fork over a minimum of £5,000 to cover the £1.65 million ($2.15 million) annual price tag for its new anti-money laundering unit.

  • October 18, 2018

    FOS Review Won't Restore Public Confidence, Lawmakers Say

    British lawmakers on Thursday criticized the focus of a pending review of cases handled by the independent dispute resolution tribunal that handles complaints against banks, saying the study places too much emphasis on process and not enough on the quality of judgments.

  • October 18, 2018

    UK Asset Manager Fights Client's Investment Losses Claim

    A U.K. asset manager being sued by a Russian investment firm over claims it mishandled the investor’s portfolio by sinking its money into high-risk products that the client did not understand rejected the lawsuit as "misconceived and without merit" in documents filed with a London court.

  • October 18, 2018

    Watchdog Data Analysis Pegs EU Derivatives Market At €660T

    The European Securities and Markets Authority revealed Thursday that trade repositories authorized in the EU reported a total 74 million open transactions at the end of 2017, amounting to a gross notional outstanding value of about €660 trillion ($758 trillion).

  • October 18, 2018

    Ex-F1 Boss Settles US Private Equity Firm's Bribery Claim

    Former Formula One chief executive Bernie Ecclestone has settled a U.K. lawsuit from an American private equity firm claiming he bribed a BayernLB official to ensure the German lender would sell its stake in the motor racing championship to a competing private equity company.

  • October 18, 2018

    Regulators Join Forces To Protect UK Pensions, Aid Savers

    Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority and The Pensions Regulator pledged on Thursday to give savers better value for money, as part of broader plans to boost cooperation in the rapidly changing pensions sector.

  • October 18, 2018

    CFTC Threatens To Block EU Banks From Markets Over Brexit

    The head of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has threatened to deny Europe's financial services firms access to U.S. futures markets unless the European Union drops new plans for the oversight of foreign clearing houses after Brexit.

  • October 17, 2018

    2 Ex-Deutsche Traders Convicted Of Libor-Rigging

    A Manhattan federal jury on Wednesday convicted two former Deutsche Bank AG traders of rigging the London Interbank Offered Rate to benefit their trading positions, setting the stage for a protracted legal fight over whether or not the trial was tainted by compelled testimony.  

  • October 17, 2018

    Spread Betting Firm Has No Liability For Client's £2M Losses

    A client cannot hold spread betting firm IG Index Ltd. responsible for £2 million ($2.6 million) in losses he suffered after a series of disastrous bets, a High Court judge has ruled, saying the firm didn't have to stop doing business with him.

  • October 17, 2018

    Nordic Watchdogs Examining $175M Dirty Money Claims

    Economic crime agencies in three Scandinavian countries said Wednesday they have been handed documents alleging that dirty money may have flowed through the region's biggest lender, Nordea Bank AB.

Expert Analysis

  • 5 Cyber Insurance Pitfalls To Avoid In The UK

    Richard Mattick

    Faced with the opportunity to purchase cyber risk insurance to mitigate the damage caused by cyber events, prospective policyholder companies need all the help they can get in order to navigate this increasingly complex part of the U.K. insurance market, says Richard Mattick of Covington & Burling LLP.

  • UK Unexplained Wealth Orders: More Bark Than Bite So Far

    Fred Saugman

    This month, the U.K. National Crime Agency successfully resisted a challenge to its first unexplained wealth orders. This is a victory, but the agency has some way to go to show that UWOs will be a meaningful tool in the U.K.'s anti-money laundering arsenal, says Fred Saugman of WilmerHale.

  • Tax Evasion Knows No Borders

    Kim Marie Boylan

    The former CEO of a U.K. bank recently pled guilty to charges under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, following a U.S. Department of Justice sting operation spanning several countries. The conviction sends a clear message that U.S. authorities will prosecute not only U.S. account holders, but those who facilitate tax evasion, whatever their nationality, say attorneys at White & Case LLP.

  • GDPR Compliance Questions For Blockchain Firms

    Daniel Cooper

    The General Data Protection Regulation applies to blockchain networks that directly store personal information. However, blockchain technology can make compliance challenging, and also raises questions regarding who bears responsibility for compliance, say attorneys at Covington & Burling LLP.

  • Knowledge Management: An Unsung Hero Of Legal Innovation

    Rob MacAdam

    As technology evolves, law firms are increasingly looking for ways to improve communication, transparency and service for their clients. Firms should put knowledge management at the core of their value proposition to create a competitive advantage, says Rob MacAdam at HighQ.

  • Uncertainty Concerning The UK's Proper Purpose Rule?

    Nick Hoffman

    The U.K. Supreme Court's judgment in Eclairs v. JKX seemingly opened the door for a broad interpretation of the proper purpose rule, but despite the confusion, the rule will continue to operate as a useful legal safeguard for shareholders, say Nick Hoffman and Conal Keane of Harney Westwood & Riegels LLP.

  • How Europe's AML Regime Is Tackling Virtual Currencies

    Chris Warren-Smith

    The use and provision of virtual currency services have remained largely unregulated in the European Union, but its newest anti-money laundering directive could be the first step to tougher regulation, say Chris Warren-Smith and Paul Mesquitta of Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP.

  • UK Ruling Signifies Greater Cross-Border Sharing Of Data

    Andrew Smith

    In KBR v. SFO, the U.K. High Court confirmed that the Serious Fraud Office can require foreign companies to produce documents held outside the U.K. as long as there is a sufficient connection between the company and the jurisdiction. This judgment will embolden other agencies with similar compulsory document production powers, says Andrew Smith of Corker Binning.

  • Why Law Firms Should Monitor The Dark Web

    Anju Chopra

    Dark web monitoring allows law firms to see what sensitive information may have made its way onto the thriving global underground marketplace where cybercriminals buy and sell exposed data. It can also help lawyers advise clients on a wide range of legal and business matters, say Anju Chopra and Brian Lapidus of Kroll.

  • Lessons From UK's Data Backlash

    Kim Roberts

    Tesco Bank and British Airways are the latest British icons to find themselves in legal difficulties regarding data breaches, exemplifying the breadth of breach-related risks beyond the established route of the Information Commissioner's Office, says Kim Roberts of King & Spalding LLP.