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Financial Services UK
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April 26, 2024
FCA Defends Naming Firms Under Investigation
The Financial Conduct Authority on Friday defended its proposed naming of companies under investigation in a letter to a House of Lords committee.
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April 26, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen budget airline Ryanair file a claim against NATS PLC after the air traffic controller's system collapsed, Mastercard and Visa Europe face group claims from Christian Dior and dozens of other beauty retailers, an intellectual property clash between the publisher of The Sun and ITV, and ISC Europe sue a former director for alleged money laundering. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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April 26, 2024
HSBC Recruiter Can't Bring Claim Over 'Eye-Rolling' Boss
A former HSBC recruiter with an obsessive-compulsive disorder can't sue the bank for disability bias over his manager's eye-rolling after a tribunal ruled the claim was brought too late.
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April 26, 2024
HSBC Beats Investors' £1.3B Disney Film Scheme Fraud Case
HSBC fended off on Friday a £1.3 billion ($1.6 billion) fraud claim brought by hundreds of investors who alleged the bank misled them into financing a Disney movie tax relief scheme it developed which turned out to be worthless.
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April 25, 2024
Law Firm Escapes £68M Ponzi Fraud Negligence Claim
Lupton Fawcett LLP has averted a £68 million ($85 million) professional negligence claim against it, as a London court ruled the claimants' alleged loss as victims of a Ponzi fraud could not be linked to the law firm's actions.
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April 25, 2024
UN Insurance Climate Group Relaunched After Backlash
An alliance of global insurers formed to accelerate the sector's move to a carbon-neutral economy was replaced on Thursday by a group encompassing less stringent requirements, after attempts to establish shared climate efforts prompted legal and regulatory backlash last year.
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April 25, 2024
Ex-Locke Lord Atty Loses Fight To Challenge Fraud Sentence
A London appellate court on Thursday blocked Locke Lord LLP's former banking partner from challenging his prison sentence for taking part in a £21 million ($26.2 million) Ponzi scheme.
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April 25, 2024
Standards Setter Unveils Toolbox for Central Counterparties
A global standards setter released a new toolbox Thursday to ensure that national authorities have access to adequate financial resources and tools to address the failure of central counterparties, which are essential to financial markets.
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April 25, 2024
Firms Urge Delays To 'Unclear' FCA Greenwashing Guidance
Financial companies are urging the City watchdog to slow its anti-greenwashing rule that comes in force in May as legal experts warn that it has failed to clarify all its expectations in final guidance, putting businesses that make the wrong call at risk of enforcement action.
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April 25, 2024
Hipgnosis Ditches Blackstone Bid For Concord's $1.5B Offer
Hipgnosis Songs has accepted a revised offer from its U.S. competitor Concord Chorus to buy the music rights investor for $1.5 billion, ditching Blackstone's $1.2 billion offer just days after accepting the private equity giant's deal.
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April 25, 2024
EU Parliament Gives Final Approval To AML Package
The European Parliament has given the final go-ahead to a package of laws to fight money laundering and terrorist financing, creating a single rule book and establishing a dedicated agency for the bloc.
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April 24, 2024
Ex-Autonomy GC Tells Jurors He Wanted To Be 'Helpful' To HP
Autonomy's former U.S. general counsel conceded Wednesday in the criminal trial of former CEO Michael Lynch that he told an HP lawyer he wanted to be as "helpful" as possible to the company as it was investigating Autonomy-related issues that popped up after the Silicon Valley giant purchased the British company, and that he was told he could face liability for his work at Autonomy.
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April 24, 2024
Klarna Trims Down Basque Bank's European Logo TM
Buy-now, pay-later giant Klarna has won its fight to restrict trademark registration for a Spanish bank's logo, blocking protection in a myriad of categories ranging from laundry detergent to musical instruments.
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April 24, 2024
Oligarch's Family Can't Nix €1.5B Bankruptcy Bid
The widow and a daughter of the late Russian cement oligarch Oleg Bourlakov stumbled in their global legal battle with relatives over his fortune after a London judge declined to stop €1.48 billion ($1.59 billion) bankruptcy proceedings in St. Petersburg.
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April 24, 2024
Feds Nab Latest OneCoin Plea On $35M Laundering Charge
An eighth defendant has been charged by federal prosecutors over the global OneCoin cryptocurrency scam and has pled guilty to laundering about $35 million in illicit proceeds through bank accounts he controlled in China and Hong Kong.
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April 24, 2024
Fund Manager Denies Losing Jailed Politician's Wife £8M
A fund manager has denied transferring €28 million ($30 million) from the account of an imprisoned Turkish politician's wife without her permission, claiming she gave written instructions to invest the money in emerging markets.
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April 24, 2024
EU Keeps Gibraltar, Panama, UAE On AML Blacklist
Gibraltar, Panama and the United Arab Emirates should remain on the European Union's blacklist of high-risk countries for money laundering, the European Parliament said, stopping the EU from following the lead of a global organization promoting standards for countries to fight those crimes.
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April 24, 2024
Payments Watchdog Seeks Responses On Supervision Plans
The Payment Systems Regulator said Wednesday it is opening a consultation on its approach to supervision of payment systems operators, including new principles for firms in the sector to apply.
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April 24, 2024
Osborne Clarke Guides Canada Life's £46M Lexmark Deal
Insurer Canada Life has agreed to a £46 million ($57 million) buy-in with the pension scheme of printing business Lexmark Holdings Inc. in a transaction guided by Osborne Clarke LLP.
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April 24, 2024
PRA Asks Banks To Review Private Equity Exposure
The Prudential Regulation Authority asked banks to review and assess their current practices to ensure they align with the regulator's expectations for effective risk management concerning private equity-linked credit and counterparty exposures.
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April 24, 2024
EU Says 3 States Aren't Correctly Following AML Law
The European Commission said Wednesday that three European Union countries — Ireland, France and Latvia — aren't correctly implementing the bloc's laws against money laundering, meaning that the countries now have two months to correct the shortcomings.
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April 24, 2024
Law Firm Ordered To Repay Couple £194K For Loan Breach
A court has ordered a law firm to reimburse a married couple at least £194,000 ($241,000) after finding that it had failed to adhere to the terms of two loan agreements the pair provided to help to fund its working capital and cover general business expenses.
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April 23, 2024
Ex-Autonomy Tech Exec Doubted 'Bizarre' $6M Deal, Jury Told
Autonomy's ex-chief technology officer testified Tuesday in the California federal fraud trial of former CEO Michael Lynch that he had concerns about Autonomy's "bizarre" 2010 deal to sell $6 million in repackaged hardware, which prosecutors allege was never delivered and was only used to artificially inflate Autonomy's revenues.
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April 23, 2024
RGL Confirms Woodford Claim Against Hargreaves Lansdown
RGL Group confirmed Tuesday it is pursuing a fresh claim against investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown over the collapse of Woodford Equity Investment Fund.
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April 23, 2024
FCA To Return £530K To Investors From Deposit-Taking Scam
The Financial Conduct Authority said Tuesday it will return £533,000 ($664,000) in recovered money to investors who were hit by a deposit scam run through two companies, including a soccer league operator.
Expert Analysis
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Pension Trustee Case Could Lead To Fossil Fuels Divestment
While the recent Court of Appeal case McGaughey v. Universities Superannuation Scheme attempts to link fossil fuel investment by trustees to significant risk of financial detriment, it is concerning that two out of 470,000 scheme members could be permitted to bring a claim without ensuring that other members are represented, says Anna Metadjer at Kingsley Napley.
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Outbound Screening May Be Next EU Investment Control Step
Following the European Commission’s recent commitment to reduce dependence on third countries by developing an outbound investment review mechanism, it will be interesting to see whether member states will take a united stand or whether national security interests will trump such an approach, say Christoph Barth and Neil Hoolihan at Linklaters.
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Barclays Ruling Narrows Banks' Fraud Recovery Duty
The U.K. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Philipp v. Barclays decided against the so-called Quincecare duty's application in authorized push payment fraud, shining light on how banks should balance their responsibility to follow customers' instructions against making reasonable inquiries, say lawyers at Ontier.
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Green Loans May Be Hungary's Path To Sustainable Financing
Fueled by a rising trend in the use of green loans, Hungary is making impressive progress in its journey toward achieving a net-zero future, although the development of social and sustainability-linked loans is still a work in progress, say Gergely Szalóki and Bálint Bodó at Schönherr.
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How The Law Must Change To Accommodate Digital Assets
The Law Commission's recent report shows that the common law of England and Wales is well suited to adapt to digital assets, and with targeted statutory reform to unlock the possibility of recognizing property in intangible things, the U.K. can become an ideal hub for parties to transact with emerging technology, says Sarah Green at the commission.
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Tackling Global Inflation Is A Challenge For Antitrust Agencies
Recent events have put pressure on antitrust agencies to address the global cost-of-living crisis, but the relationship between competition and inflation is complex, and with competition agencies’ reluctance to act as price regulators, enforcement is unlikely to have a meaningful impact, say lawyers at Linklaters.
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Key Findings From EBA's Money Laundering Report
The European Banking Authority's recent report on money laundering and terrorist financing risks, highlighting that payment institutions may be ineffectively assessing or managing those risks, makes clear that addressing its findings will be essential to protecting the European Union from financial crime, say lawyers at Hogan Lovells.
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Cos. Using AI Should Note Regulators' Privacy Concerns
The past year’s unprecedented explosion in the use of artificial intelligence tools has sparked fears over the way personal data may be collected and treated, and organizations adopting AI will need to ensure that they have a lawful basis to use data collected in this way, says Paula Williamson at Excello Law.
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Comparing EU And UK Proposals To Regulate ESG Ratings
Ferdisha Snagg and Andreas Wildner at Cleary examine the key aspects of the EU proposal for regulating environmental, social and governance rating activities and draw comparisons to the U.K. proposal regarding scope, substantive provider obligations on regulated providers and the likely timeline for adoption and implementation.
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Digital Assets Consultation Offers First Step In Regulation
The recently published International Organization of Securities Commissions consultation intending to establish coordinated international regulation of cryptocurrency and digital assets, will benefit and protect retail investors against financial crime risk, also allowing legitimate market entrants to distinguish themselves from less scrupulous participants, says Fred Saugman at WilmerHale.
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EU And UK Crypto-Asset Consumer Rights Look Set To Differ
The U.K. government's recent consultation paper lacks an extended cooling off period to cancel crypto-asset purchases, which notably deviates from the European Union Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation, but depending on feedback, the U.K. may eventually adopt similar consumer protection measures, say Felicity Forward and Matt Green at Shoosmiths.
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EU Sustainability Initiatives Will Affect Emissions Trading
The measures recently adopted by the EU in its "Fit for 55" legislative package to revise its emissions trading system and establish a carbon border adjustment mechanism have far-reaching implications for companies needing to implement changes to offset the potential effects of their business operations, say Melanie Bruneau, Giovanni Campi and Annette Mutschler-Siebert at K&L Gates.
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The Benefits Of Uniformity In EU Anti-Corruption Proposals
The proposed directive requiring European Union member states to incorporate uniform anti-bribery measures would bring greater harmony and consistency, doing much to facilitate the prevention of bribery and drive common standards in the compliance culture of companies, say lawyers at White & Case.
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What To Know About 'Prior Obligations' Sanctions Exemption
The U.K. Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation recently issued a "prior obligations" general license authorizing U.K. persons to receive funds or economic resources owed to them by any person targeted by U.K. asset freeze sanctions, and it is novel for its scope but by no means a panacea, say Jane Shvets and Konstantin Bureiko at Debevoise.
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Recent Cases Mark Maturation Of CAT Class Cert. Approach
The Competition Appeal Tribunal's recent refusal to grant collective proceedings applications against Visa and MasterCard in the Commercial and Interregional Card Claims case shows that the tribunal takes its role as a gatekeeper seriously, and that it will likely continue to be difficult for defendants to defeat certification first time around, say lawyers at Linklaters.