Financial Services UK

4 Things To Watch As UK Releases Budget

The U.K.'s Labour government is set to release an autumn budget Wednesday that faces a test of balancing a pledge not to raise working people's taxes with an expected need to boost revenue to meet fiscal rules. Here are four things to watch for as the budget is issued.

Blocks featuring binary code with locks on dark blue background as illustration of blockchain technology.

SFO's Crypto Probe Marks Shift In Tackling Blockchain Fraud

The launch by the Serious Fraud Office of its first cryptocurrency investigation signals an appetite for using new resources to crack down on fraud, part of a wider move by U.K. law enforcement agencies to treat blockchain as a mainstream threat, lawyers say.

Individual cryptocurrency coins on view on a black surface.

How Mishcon Helped Uncover £5.6B Money Laundering Plot

Law360 examines here how a suspicious activity report raised by Mishcon de Reya about a client's attempted transactions served as the catalyst for one of the biggest cryptocurrency seizures in British history.

FCA Oversight Spells Tougher AML Scrutiny For Law Firms

The Financial Conduct Authority's new powers to police lawyers and other professionals could place law firms under a heightened supervisory regime similar to that of banks and other high-risk financial institutions, experts say.

November 27, 2025
Citibank Sues Santander Over $90M Mozambique Bond Row

The London branch of Citibank N.A. and a company behind the development of a major energy project in Mozambique are seeking declarations from the High Court that Santander owes $90 million under two bond contracts.
November 27, 2025
Payment Providers Face Liability Under New EU Fraud Rules

The council and parliament of the European Union agreed on Thursday that payment service providers will be held liable if they do not use modern and improved methods for preventing the sector from facilitating fraud.
November 27, 2025
Pension Reforms Bill Set For December Report Stage

The U.K. government has confirmed lawmakers will scrutinize proposed changes to its flagship pension plan legislation on Dec. 3.
November 27, 2025
Trader Hid Fraud As Nickel Prices Soared, Trafigura Says

A metals trader denied allegations on Thursday that he tried to cover up his alleged nickel fraud against Trafigura when prices shot up in 2022, repeating his accusation that the commodities supplier knew it was trading in sham metal and was in on the scheme.
November 27, 2025
UK Budget Will Cause 'Poorer Retirements,' Insurers Warn

The government risks pushing millions of people into poorer retirements through its plan to cap salary sacrifice arrangements, an insurance trade body has warned.
November 27, 2025
Insolvency Service Gets Extra £25M To Tackle Rogue Directors

The Insolvency Service has described its additional £25 million ($33 million) in government funding over the next five years as a welcome boost to its bid to weed out rogue directors in Britain.
November 27, 2025
Asset Manager To Buy Rival WH Ireland For £12.7M

Asset manager Team PLC said Thursday that it has agreed to acquire WH Ireland Group PLC in an all-share deal that values the company at £12.7 million ($16.8 million), to create a financial services business with more than £2.1 billion in assets under management.
November 27, 2025
Asset Manager Liontrust Launches £10M Share Buyback

Liontrust Asset Management PLC said it began a share buyback worth £10 million ($13 million) on Thursday, in a move to downsize its outstanding share capital.
November 27, 2025
Barclays Wraps £1B Buyback, Launches New £500M Program

Barclays PLC launched a share repurchase program valued at up to £500 million ($660 million) on Thursday after wrapping up its previous £1 billion buyback scheme.
November 26, 2025
Fugitive Forfeits £765K Over Halifax Mortgage Fraud

A London court on Wednesday ordered the confiscation of more than £765,000 ($1 million) from a fugitive convicted of mortgage fraud who had lied about the finances of his business to secure a loan from Halifax PLC.
November 26, 2025
UK Launches Reward Program For Tax Fraud Whistleblowers

The U.K. government launched a reward program on Wednesday for whistleblowers who report large-scale tax fraud to HM Revenue and Customs, offering informants significant payouts if investigators can claw back sizable amounts of tax.
November 26, 2025
Aston Bond Denies Negligence In £2M Property Deal Clash

A law firm has hit back against a £1.9 million ($2.5 million) negligence claim from two former clients, saying that it should not be held responsible for the clients' settlement decisions and that the claim was filed too late.
November 26, 2025
UK Cuts ISA Allowance To Push Cash-Rich Toward Investing

The government will cut the tax-free allowance that under-65s can pay into a cash individual savings account each year to £12,000 ($15,854) from the current £20,000, effective from April 2027, to push savers with extra cash toward investment markets.
November 26, 2025
London Court Nixes Bid To Halt UniCredit's Russian Arbitration

A London court has rejected an attempt by a fashion retail outlet owner to block UniCredit from continuing arbitration proceedings in Russia aimed at taking some of its roughly €42 million ($49 million) property portfolio.
November 26, 2025
FCA Charges 2 With Insider Dealing Linked To Takeover

The Financial Conduct Authority said Wednesday that it has started criminal proceedings against two men for allegedly making £70,000 ($93,000) from insider dealing linked to the £969 million takeover of a former property investment trust listed in London.
November 26, 2025
Law Firms Spared Partnership Tax Grab In UK Budget

The absence of a rumored increase in national insurance contributions for limited liability partnerships in the chancellor's U.K. budget statement on Wednesday suggested that the proposal might have been quietly shelved after heavy lobbying from the legal sector.
November 26, 2025
Trafigura Nickel Trader Planned $600M Fraud, Gupta Testifies

Metals trader Prateek Gupta on Wednesday denied defrauding Trafigura out of $600 million in a nickel scam, saying during cross-examination that the alleged fraud was instigated by Trafigura and that he was merely "following instructions."
November 26, 2025
UK To Limit Pension Tax Breaks, Raising Retirement Concerns

The U.K. government said Wednesday it will reduce tax breaks on pension salary-sacrifice arrangements, despite fears it could leave millions worse off in retirement.
November 26, 2025
FCA Finds Misreporting Problems In Investment Firms' Data

The Financial Conduct Authority warned on Wednesday that it has found investment firms across the sector are reporting data on their capital positions and risk management to the regulator wrongly.
November 26, 2025
DWF-Led Pension Trustee Co. IGG Buys Savings Adviser

Independent Governance Group, a pensions trusteeship and governance services provider, has acquired retirement consultancy KGC Associates Ltd. to help the business to grow.
November 26, 2025
Gov't Extends Income Tax Threshold Freeze In UK Budget

The U.K. government will extend the freeze on income tax thresholds as part of its plans to raise £26 billion ($34 billion) in tax revenue without raising rates, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves announced Wednesday.
November 25, 2025
Bridgepoint Buys Majority Stake In Crypto Audit Firm

Middle-market private equity firm Bridgepoint Group, led by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, on Tuesday revealed plans to take a majority stake in British digital asset assurance and technology solutions provider ht.digital, led by Dentons.
November 25, 2025
FCA Engages With WH Smith After North America Profits Error

The Financial Conduct Authority revealed Tuesday that it is speaking with WH Smith after an independent review by Deloitte found that the company's North American division made an accounting blunder that overstated profits by as much as £50 million ($65.4 million).
November 25, 2025
Half A Million Pensioners 'At Risk Of Paying Income Tax'

An additional half a million state pensioners would pay income tax if the government extends the freeze on thresholds for another two years, a former pensions minister has said.
November 25, 2025
NCA Files Claim Against Withers, Tycoon Over £50M Trust

The National Crime Agency has filed a High Court claim against a politician and tycoon and a subsidiary of Withers amid a dispute over his £50 million ($66 million) London property portfolio, which is held in trust by the law firm.

Editor's Picks

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 Draft Pay Fraud Rules Open Tricky Legal Liabilities

The government's new draft legislation, which will give banks longer to investigate suspicions of fraud before they send payments instructed by customers, will create a wave of new legal liabilities and lead to regulatory hurdles, according to lawyers.
FCA Fires Warning Shot Over City's Consumer Duty Failings

The Financial Conduct Authority has sent out a fresh warning to financial services companies highlighting how some of them are failing to comply with its Consumer Duty regime. But experts have told Law360 that the expectations are unclear.

Expert Analysis

OFSI Proposals Signal Greater Focus On Enforcement Activity

The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation’s proposed financial sanctions reforms, with risks of higher penalties and more stringent disclosure requirements for U.K. banks and companies, reflect the agency’s evolution into a more sophisticated and robust enforcement regulator, says Irene Polieri at Gibson Dunn.
How Restructuring Reforms Will Streamline Insolvency Plans

The recently published revised practice statement on schemes of arrangement and restructuring plans promises midmarket businesses efficiency without diluting safeguards, positioning schemes as inclusive tools rather than elite options, say lawyers at Addleshaw Goddard.
How 2nd Circ. Decision Extends CFTC's Extraterritorial Reach

The Second Circuit recently concluded in U.S. v. Phillips that the Commodity Exchange Act extends to entirely foreign conduct if a victim of the conduct is based in the U.S., suggesting there is a heightened risk that foreign swap transactions will be susceptible to U.S. regulation when U.S. counterparties are involved, say attorneys at Skadden.
EBA Proposals Signal Overhaul Of EU 3rd-Party Risk Rules

The European Banking Authority’s plans to extend third-party risk controls to non-ICT services, which may be finalized by the end of the year, will place a significant compliance and operational burden on in-scope entities, which should not be underestimated, say lawyers at Travers Smith.
FCA Proposals Reduce Consumer Duty Compliance Burden

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent proposals to streamline the consumer duty regime represent a pragmatic response to industry concerns, with a move toward sector-specific supervision and potentially narrowing its scope for wholesale and cross-border business, say lawyers at Simmons & Simmons.
How New Companies House ID Rules Affect Businesses

Lawyers at Shepherd & Wedderburn discuss the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act’s new mandatory identity verification requirements for all company directors and persons with significant control, set to go live next week, which aim to curb fraud by improving the reliability of information held by Companies House.
What EU Securitization Proposals Signal For Risk Transfers

If implemented, recent amendments to the European Union securitization framework are expected to have an unambiguously positive effect on significant risk transfer markets, providing greater consistency and necessary flexibility, say lawyers at McDermott.
Role Of UK Investment Act Is Evolving In M&A Deals

With merger and acquisition activity likely to increase in light of the government’s new defense industrial strategy, the role of the National Security and Investment Act will come into sharper focus, and its recent annual report confirms that scrutiny is intensifying, say lawyers at Kingsley Napley.
What To Know About EU's Reimposition Of Sanctions On Iran

Lawyers at Steptoe discuss the European Union’s recent reimposition of trade and financial sanctions against Iran, which will introduce legal and operational constraints that affect EU companies' commercial activities in the region.
FCA Crypto Proposals Herald Tougher Oversight For Firms

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent proposals to extend regulation to crypto-asset activities will bring parity, but implementation of the operational resilience requirements and enhanced financial crime controls will present compliance challenges, says Michelle Kirschner at Gibson Dunn.
EU Investment Reporting Rules Letup Signals Pragmatic Shift

While investment companies remain subject to far-reaching disclosure obligations under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, new guidance from the European Commission on reporting passive limited partner commitments represents a drastic simplification and burden reduction, say lawyers at Paul Weiss.
SFO's 2-Year Transformation Signals Crackdown On Fraud

Two years after Nick Ephgrave’s appointment as director of the Serious Fraud Office, the introduction of new corporate criminal offenses and strengthened investigative methods sends a clear message to corporations that the agency is delivering on its promise to be bolder and more proactive about tackling fraud, say lawyers at BCL Solicitors.
How EU And UK Consumer Loan Protections Are Shifting

As market evolution and digitalization motivate both the European Union and the U.K. to revamp consumer protections around lending, the potential for divergence between these rules will pose new challenges for cross-border consumer credit lenders, say lawyers at Skadden.
EBA Guidance Shakes Up EU Securitization Market Practices

Although the European Banking Authority’s recent questioning of the common use of conditional sale agreements to season assets when setting up securitizations has come as an unwelcome surprise, competent regulators are expected to follow the EBA guidance, even though as a Q&A response it is not legally binding, say lawyers at Debevoise.
Landmark VAT Ruling Should Shift HMRC Reply On Guidance

The recent decision in Hotelbeds Ltd. v. Revenue and Customs Commissioners on the recovery of input tax, confirming that HMRC is bound to comply with its own guidance, will make the agency rethink its usual response to allegations that the policy was not law, say lawyers at Kennedys.