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Financial Services UK
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May 20, 2024
SFO Seizes Cash In Bank Account Linked To Nigerian Bribery
Britian's anti-corruption agency has seized more than £36,000 ($46,000) from the former managing director of an African state-owned banknote printing company after prosecutors traced the money to a bribery scheme.
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May 20, 2024
Collapsed Firm Escapes Fine For Making Unapproved Claims
The solicitors' watchdog for England and Wales on Monday waived a £65,300 ($83,000) fine for a shuttered law firm that submitted claims without clients' approval, scrapping the penalty to safeguard the outfit's creditors.
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May 20, 2024
Lessors File Russia-Stranded Planes Cases After Major Ruling
Two aircraft lessors have filed details of claims against insurers in London for a combined total of $62.1 million over planes stranded in Russia because of the invasion of Ukraine after a landmark ruling tossed attempts to move the cases and others to Russia.
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May 20, 2024
UK Leads Europe In Financial Services Investment, EY Says
The U.K. has solidified its position as Europe's top destination for foreign direct investment in financial services as it attracted 108 investment projects in 2023 compared to 76 a year earlier, the Big Four accounting firm EY said Monday.
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May 20, 2024
Step Up Action On Financial Abuse, FCA Tells Firms
The Financial Conduct Authority has called on regulated firms to take further steps to stop financial abuse of individuals through manipulation of banking or insurance products as it looks through the lens of the Consumer Duty.
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May 20, 2024
Crypto 'Inventor' Used Court As Vehicle For Fraud, Judge Says
A London court ruled Monday that the man who claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto in a weekslong trial lied extensively and committed forgery "on a grand scale," finding that the computer scientist had used the courts as a "vehicle for fraud."
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May 20, 2024
Addleshaw Helps British Land Sell Stake In Mall To Norway
British Land said Monday that it has sold its remaining 50% stake in a mall in northern England to Norway's sovereign wealth fund for £360 million ($457 million), as the property investor looks to reduce its exposure to indoor shopping centers.
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May 17, 2024
Imprisoned Oligarch Partly Wins Bid To Expand $14B Claim
An imprisoned Russian billionaire partly succeeded in a London court Friday in adding new allegations to his $13.8 billion claim alleging his business empire was fraudulently taken in a wide-ranging Russian state conspiracy.
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May 17, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen a wave of claims filed against Verity Trustees Ltd., Harley-Davidson hit retailer Next with an intellectual property claim, Turkish e-commerce entrepreneur Demet Mutlu sue her ex-husband and Trendyol co-founder Evren Üçok and the Solicitors Regulation Authority file a claim against the former boss of collapsed law firm Axiom. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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May 17, 2024
SEC Can Try To Show Jurisdiction Over German In $3M Claim
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will be allowed to pursue evidence to support its case for disgorgement of $3.3 million in allegedly ill-gotten gains from a German man whose son was implicated in a $150 million pump-and-dump scheme, a federal judge in Boston ruled on Thursday.
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May 17, 2024
Pensioners Lose £80M In Credit Over Submission Errors
The Department for Work and Pensions has said that retirees lost out on £80 million ($102 million) in payments to help top up their weekly income to a minimum level because they submitted inaccurate information about themselves in the last financial year.
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May 17, 2024
FCA Sets Out Consumer Duty Priorities For Closed Products
The Financial Conduct Authority has sent "Dear CEO" letters to multiple financial service firms, setting out its priorities for the July deadline to apply the Consumer Duty guidelines to closed-off products such as old savings accounts or insurance policies.
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May 17, 2024
ABN Amro To Sell Stake In Life Insurance JV Neuflize Vie
BN Amro Bank NV said Friday that its Neuflize OBC French private bank branch has entered "exclusive negotiations" to sell the unit to the insurance subsidiary of BNP Paribas SA to form a strategic partnership in life insurance in France.
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May 17, 2024
Asset Manager Alpha Growth To Buy Insurance Manager
British wealth manager Alpha Growth PLC said Friday that it will buy Guernsey-based insurance management company Jeometri for £450,000 ($569,000) to help it grow its insurance offering across the U.K.
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May 17, 2024
FCA To Weigh 'Sensitive, Emotive Issue' Of Probes Policy
The Financial Conduct Authority has said it "will take time" to consider widespread concerns over its proposals to identify companies or individuals under investigation after lawyers said the move could damage careers.
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May 17, 2024
Ex-Investment Manager Gets 6 Years For £19M Ponzi Scheme
A former investment manager was sentenced to six years in prison on Friday for defrauding hundreds of investors out of £19 million ($24 million) in a Ponzi scheme that prosecutors said helped fuel a lavish lifestyle.
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May 16, 2024
FCA Charges Reality TV Stars Over Risky Investment Ads
The Financial Conduct Authority said Thursday it has charged nine social media influencers and reality TV stars for promoting an unauthorized trading scheme online that dealt with high-risk financial products tied to foreign exchange rates.
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May 16, 2024
Russian Wealth Fund Fails To Curb EU Sanctions
The European Union's General Court has upheld sanctions against a Russian sovereign wealth fund, ruling it is the "archetypal" company for attracting international investors who sustain the country's war in Ukraine.
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May 16, 2024
M&G Accounts Manager Wins £13K Over Resignation Dispute
An accounts manager at M&G PLC has won more than £13,000 ($16,500) after an employment tribunal found that the company wrongly refused to let him see out his 12-week notice period while on garden leave.
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May 16, 2024
Slovenian Bank NLB Bids €400M For Austrian Lender Addiko
A Slovenian bank has tabled a €400 million ($435 million) bid to buy Austria's Addiko, a business lender operating in central and southeastern Europe, as it seeks to expand into new territories.
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May 16, 2024
Nationwide Cited For Compliance Breaches In PPI Market
The competition watchdog said on Thursday it has written to Nationwide Building Society, telling the lender that it had breached the rules by giving clients incorrect information about insurance covering mortgage repayments.
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May 16, 2024
Lithuania PM Wants Frozen Russian Assets To Help Ukraine
Lithuania's prime minister said Thursday that Russia's frozen assets should be used to help Ukraine fight off aggression from its larger neighbor, saying that a recent European decision to use profits from frozen assets should be only a first step.
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May 15, 2024
Taxpayers Let Down By HMRC Digital Service, Says Watchdog
HM Revenue and Customs has let down taxpayers by failing to deliver better online services, according to a report published on Wednesday by the public spending watchdog.
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May 15, 2024
Swiss Seek Feedback On Crypto Information Exchange
Switzerland's executive body, the Federal Council, is seeking feedback from the public on its plan to adopt two Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development standards that will update the country's automatic exchanges of information to account for crypto-assets, it said Wednesday.
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May 15, 2024
Crypto 'Academy' Closed After Probe Into False Assurances
A cryptocurrency firm that "recklessly" persuaded customers to put money into investment plans has been wound up after the government's insolvency agency found that the company had given false assurances and traded without regulatory approval.
Expert Analysis
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UK Review May Lead To Lower Investment Screening Burden
The government’s current review of national security investment screening rules aims to refine the scope of mandatory notifications required for unproblematic deals, and is likely to result in much-needed modifications to minimize the administrative burden on businesses and investors, say lawyers at Simpson Thacher.
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Economic Crime Act Exposure: What Companies Can Expect
The intention of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act is to make it easier to attribute criminal liability to companies if a senior manager has committed an offense, but the impact on corporate criminal convictions depends on who qualifies as a senior manager and the evidential challenges in showing it, say Hayley Ichilcik and Julius Handler at MoFo.
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FCA Promotions Review Sends A Strong Message To Firms
The recent FCA review into firms' compliance with the rules on promoting high-risk investments to retail clients clarifies that it expects the letter and the spirit of the rules to be followed, and given the interplay with the consumer duty, there are wider implications at stake, say Marina Reason and Chris Hurn at Herbert Smith.
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When Can Bonuses Be Clawed Back?
The High Court's recent decision in Steel v. Spencer should remind employees that the contractual conditions surrounding bonuses and the timing of any resignation must be carefully considered, as in certain circumstances, bonuses can and are being successfully clawed back by employers, say Merrill April and Rachael Parker at CM Murray.
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The State Of UK Litigation Funding After Therium Ruling
The recent English High Court decision in Therium v. Bugsby Property has provided a glimmer of hope for litigation funders about how courts will interpret this summer's U.K. Supreme Court ruling that called funding agreements impermissible, suggesting that its adverse effects may be mitigated, says Daniel Williams at DWF Law.
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UK Shareholding Report A Missed Opportunity For New Tech
The recommendations in the U.K. Digitization Taskforce's recent report on digitizing and improving the U.K. shareholding framework are moderate but not revolutionary, and its failure to recommend digital ledger technology will impede a full transformation of the system, say Tom Bacon and Andrew Tsang at BCLP.
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Tools M&A Deal Makers Can Use To Bridge Valuation Gaps
As macroeconomic headwinds reset valuation expectations, parties to merger and acquisition are increasingly looking to methods such as earnouts, vendor financing and minority transactions to bridge the valuation gap and get deals done, says Philip Herbst at Cleary.
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Navigating The Novel Challenges Facing The Legal Profession
The increasing prominence of ESG and AI have transformed the legal landscape and represent new opportunities for lawyers, but with evolving regulations and the ever-expanding reach of the Solicitors Regulation Authority, law firms should ensure that they have appropriate policies in place to adapt to these challenges, say Scott Ashby and Aimee Talbot at RPC.
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Deal Over Jets Stranded In Russia May Serve As Blueprint
In the face of a pending "mega-trial" over leased airplanes held in Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, a settlement between leading aviation lessor AerCap Holdings NV and NSK, the Russian state-controlled insurance company, could pave the way for similar deals, say Samantha Zaozirny and Timeyin Pinnick at Browne Jacobson.
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Economic Crime Act Brings Changes For Limited Partnerships
The recently passed Economic Crime Act introduces significant financial transparency obligations for new and existing U.K. limited partnerships, and with criminal consequences for noncompliance, a degree of advance consideration is strongly advised, say Amelia Stawpert and Alex Jones at Hogan Lovells.
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ESMA Report Offers A Glimpse At EU's Securitization Future
The European Securities and Markets Authority’s recent overview of the EU securitization sector suggests a growing market for both investors and businesses and offers useful insight into future regulatory priorities, says Alan Bunbury at Matheson.
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What The Auto-Enrollment Law Means For UK Workforce
In a welcome step to enhance retirement savings, the U.K. government is set to extend the automatic enrollment regime by lowering the eligibility age and reducing the lower qualifying earnings limit, but addressing workers' immediate financial needs remains a challenge, says Beth Brown at Arc Pensions.
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UAE Bank Case Offers Lessons On Enforcing Foreign Rulings
The High Court recently clarified in Invest Bank v. El-Husseini that foreign judgment debts may be enforceable in England, despite being unenforceable in their jurisdiction of origin, which should remind practitioners that foreign judgments will be recognized in England if they are final and conclusive in their court of origin, say lawyers at Macfarlanes.
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Revised OECD Guidelines Key In Shaping Business Standards
The OECD’s recent revised guidelines on responsible business conduct, supported by a domestic government agencies’ grievance referral mechanism, have already influenced EU due diligence standards, and enterprises engaging in the unique procedure will benefit from case-specific nuances, parallel proceedings and the availability of confidentiality protections, say lawyers at Debevoise.
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Libor Fallback To Prime May Increase Corporate Loan Costs
Despite preparations and legislative actions related to the transition away from Libor earlier this year, there remains a contingent of corporate borrowers that have fallen through the cracks and could face increased costs if their loans default to prime rates, say Nathan Moore and Dana Bradley at WilmerHale.