Financial Services 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.

HSBC Using AI To Fight Fraud Under 'Failure To Prevent' Law

HSBC has emerged as one of the first banks to confirm it is harnessing artificial intelligence under the new "failure to prevent fraud" offense that targets companies benefiting from fraud committed by employees.

October 06, 2025
Former Petrobras Exec's $7.7M Asset Fight Delayed To 2026

The challenge brought by a former Petrobras executive to the seizure from him by the Serious Fraud Office of $7.7 million will continue in 2026 to allow additional information about related Brazilian proceedings to be gathered, a London court ordered on Monday.
October 06, 2025
FCA Survey Highlights Firms' Frustration With Data Demands

The Financial Conduct Authority has revealed some rising industry concerns about its performance, including excessive supervisory correspondence and unnecessary data requests, in the latest annual Practitioner Panel survey.
October 06, 2025
Ex-Soldier Gets 7.5 Years In Prison For £1.3M Ponzi Fraud

A former British Army rifleman convicted of running a £1.3 million ($1.75 million) Ponzi scheme was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison on Monday, as a judge said it was a "great pity" he had not seen the strength of the evidence against him.
October 06, 2025
Justices Won't Review Ex-BigLaw Atty's OneCoin Conviction

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a former Locke Lord LLP partner's appeal of his conviction and prison sentence for helping launder roughly $400 million in proceeds from the infamous OneCoin cryptocurrency scheme.
October 06, 2025
Private Equity Deals Fuel Rebound In UK Insurance M&A

Transactions by private equity firms helped deals involving U.K. insurance brokerage or distribution firms achieve a moderate rebound in September, according to new analysis by a financial consultancy.
October 06, 2025
Slaughter And May Leads London IPO Of UK Bank Shawbrook

U.K. business lender Shawbrook Group PLC said Monday that it plans a potential listing on the LSE, in a boost for the stock exchange which has struggled in recent years to attract or retain companies.
October 06, 2025
Subsea Biz Ashtead Moves From AIM To LSE's Main Market

Ashtead Technology said Monday its shares have begun trading on the main market of the London Stock Exchange, a move the subsea equipment rentals business believes will broaden its access to a wider range of international investors.
October 06, 2025
FRC To Issue Guidance on Virgin Media Pensions Ruling

Britain's audit watchdog has said it will issue guidance to help pension plan actuaries confirm historic amendments to retirement savings benefits ahead of forthcoming legislation sparked by a landmark court judgment in 2024.
October 03, 2025
Ex-Petrobras Exec's Challenge To $7.7M Seizure Delayed

A former Petrobras executive's challenge to the U.K's Serious Fraud Office's seizure of $7.7 million from him was delayed by a London court Friday, after the white-collar agency said it needed time to gather evidence about related proceedings in Brazil.
October 03, 2025
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen billionaire Michael Platt sue his former tax lawyer, five former Deutsche Bank staffers file claims against the German bank and an Italian financier issue a commercial fraud claim against the Vatican and UBS.
October 03, 2025
Linklaters Seeks To Quash Fintech Investor's Negligence Suit

Linklaters sought on Friday to dismiss a fintech investor's negligence claim, saying it failed to comply with court rules and has abused the court's process by filing a claim before fully investigating whether it has a viable case.
October 03, 2025
Denmark's £1.4B Cum-Ex Loss Raises Legal Strategy Doubts

Denmark's "bruising" defeat in its £1.4 billion ($1.9 billion) cum-ex fraud case against trader Sanjay Shah and others calls into question its legal strategy and the scope of its claim, lawyers have said, although they believe an appeal appears inevitable.
October 03, 2025
Science Minister Urges Pension Funds To Back Tech Startups

The U.K. government has urged the country's £3.2 trillion ($4.3 trillion) pensions industry to offer financial backing to a new generation of British technology startups.
October 03, 2025
Monaco Advisory Firm Rejects €10M Claim Over Services

A Monaco advisory firm has denied a Spanish private equity fund manager's €10 million ($11.7 million) claim over allegedly subpar fund placement advice and pressed its allegation that the manager unlawfully terminated a contract.
October 03, 2025
EU Markets Watchdog Widens Supervisory Reach For 2026

The European Union's financial markets regulator said Friday it will expand its supervisory responsibilities into a raft of new areas in 2026, including sustainability ratings, green bond issuance and the giant information technology service providers.
October 03, 2025
Pension Surplus Exceeds £55B At Top 100 UK Firms

The funding surplus of pension plans among the top 100 businesses in Britain has exceeded £55 billion ($74 billion), Lane Clark & Peacock LLP has said, marking a shift in conversation from funding to "delivering value."
October 03, 2025
Denmark Denied Permission To Appeal £1.4B Cum-Ex Defeat

Denmark cannot revive its £1.4 billion ($1.9 billion) 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 03, 2025
UK, Europe Pension Plans Urged To Look At VC Investment

British and European pensions must move beyond preparation to active participation with venture capital investment that could "unleash" significant growth across the bloc, new analysis by a research group for the sector shows.
October 02, 2025
Switzerland Dodges $372M Credit Suisse Collapse Suit

A New York federal judge has granted Switzerland's bid to throw out a $372 million suit against the country stemming from the 2023 collapse of Credit Suisse and the reduction in value of about $17 billion of debt securities, ruling that it has sovereign immunity in the dispute.
October 02, 2025
Debt Recovery Actions Not Taxable Under EU Law, ECJ Says

A holding company pursuing debt recovery is not providing a taxable service to its debtor under European value-added tax law, the European Union's top court ruled Thursday.
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
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
Tax KC Sued By Hedge Fund Billionaire Over Negligence

Billionaire Michael Platt and his hedge fund BlueCrest Capital Management have sued a senior One Essex Court barrister who represented them in a dispute with the U.K. tax authority over the identity of awards paid under a special partnership program.
October 02, 2025
Investors Sue Aston Bond For Mishandling £2M Property Deal

Two property developers are suing their ex-lawyers for £1.9 million ($2.5 milliom) for allegedly tanking a real estate deal as a result of their negligence and causing the developers to lose their deposit and face a lawsuit from the would-be sellers.

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

Privy Council Shareholder Rule Repeal Is Significant For Cos.

The recent Privy Council ruling in Jardine v. Oasis Investment abrogates the shareholder rule, which precluded a company from claiming legal advice privilege for document production in shareholder litigation, providing certainty to company directors seeking legal advice, say lawyers at Harneys.
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.
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.
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.
Charting A Course For The UK's Transition From Paper Shares

The recent report from the U.K.'s Digitisation Taskforce, recommending modernization of how shares in U.K.-listed companies are held, makes it clear that while moving from paper shares to an intermediated system is a positive step, the transition will not be without complications, say lawyers at HSF Kramer.
Return-To-Office Policy Considerations For UK Employers

As the Financial Conduct Authority reviews its hybrid working policy and other organizations increasingly require employees to return to the office, employers should weigh the costs and benefits of these decisions while considering the nuances of work-from-home rights in the U.K., say lawyers at Shoosmiths.
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.
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.
CMA Pricing Guide Signals Shift In UK Consumer Protection

The Competition and Markets Authority’s recent draft price transparency guide, as part of a wider reform introduced by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, represents a significant change in U.K. consumer protection by targeting unfair trading practices and strengthening enforcement mechanisms, says Felicity Forward at Shoosmiths.
8 Compliance Team Strategies To Support Business Agility

Amid new regulatory requirements across the globe, compliance functions must design thoughtful guardrails that help business leaders achieve their commercial objectives lawfully — from repurposing existing tools to using technology thoughtfully — instead of defaulting to cumbersome protocols that hinder legitimate business, says Theodore Edelman at GCE Advisors.
What To Note From FCA, Gov't Financial Growth Proposals

Recent Financial Conduct Authority and government proposals for financial services reform are positive developments for firms, signaling a drive to push forward growth and a willingness to be flexible in areas of regulation that the industry has long raised as barriers, say lawyers at Simmons & Simmons.
What Gov't Report Tells Lawyers About Continuing AML Risks

The U.K. government’s recent national money laundering risk assessment maintains conveyancing, company service work and misuse of client accounts as key threats, underscoring that law firms should expect renewed scrutiny and higher expectations in these high-risk areas, says Harriet Holmes at Thirdfort.