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Financial Services UK
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March 25, 2024
UK Firms To Get More Influence On Pension Fund Investing
British companies will probably enjoy greater sway over the investment decisions taken by their pension plans under new rules being considered by The Pensions Regulator, a consultancy said on Monday.
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March 25, 2024
Staveley On The Hook For £3.4M After Failed Court Battle
Newcastle United co-owner Amanda Staveley failed Monday to have a repayment demand from a Greek shipping magnate set aside as a High Court judge ruled that she had 21 days to hand over £3.5 million ($4.4 million).
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March 25, 2024
Lebanese-Owned Bank Breached AML Rules, Watchdog Finds
Switzerland's financial regulator said Monday that Banque Audi (Suisse) SA has breached rules designed to tackle money-laundering and must give up 3.9 million Swiss francs ($4.3 million) in illicit profits.
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March 22, 2024
Investment Firm Fights To Save £43M Delayed Hotel Claim
An investment firm pleaded with a London court on Friday not to throw out its £43 million ($54 million) claim against a hotelier who it says scuppered a hotel project in Scotland by demanding last-minute changes.
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March 22, 2024
JPMorgan Gets Early Trial On US Regs In Viva Wallet Dispute
J.P. Morgan on Friday was granted an expedited London trial on some of the issues in its warring claims with the founder of a Greek payment company co-owned by the investment bank over the fintech business' value.
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March 22, 2024
Money Laundering Ringleader Jailed For £560K Bank Con
A fraudster who set up sham carpet and furniture businesses as part of a money laundering scheme that lost banks £560,000 ($705,000) has been jailed for six years and four months, the U.K.'s Insolvency Service said Friday.
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March 22, 2024
Glencore Cannot Deny Knowing It Was Corrupt, Investors Say
Glencore cannot claim it "reasonably believed" it was telling the truth when it failed to disclose it orchestrated a global bribery scheme during an initial public offering that raised $10 billion, institutional investors suing the mining and trading group have said.
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March 22, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen the BBC and Wall to Wall Media hit with a passing off lawsuit by musician BOSSIIE, Poundland parent company Pepco Group file a commercial fraud claim against several mobile network giants, family law specialists Alexiou Fisher Philipps LLP start proceedings against former oil trader Michael Prest, and a transgender lawyer file a libel claim against a blogger. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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March 22, 2024
4 Charged For Unregulated Water Investment Scam
The Financial Conduct Authority said Friday it has charged four individuals with allegedly defrauding investors out of £3.9 million ($4.9 million) in an unregulated water investment scheme.
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March 22, 2024
UK Tax Avoidance Scheme Promoter Fined £900K
A Liverpool-based company that promoted a tax avoidance scheme to medical professionals must pay a £900,000 ($1.1 million) penalty, according to a tribunal ruling published by HM Revenue and Customs on Friday.
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March 22, 2024
87-Year-Old Billionaire Lewis Seeks No Jail For Insider Trading
Lawyers for British billionaire Joe Lewis have asked a Manhattan federal judge not to impose any prison time after his plea to insider trading, saying a term of probation is appropriate because the 87-year-old is "nearing the end of life in declining health."
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March 22, 2024
Oil Shipper Fails To Have UK Sanctions Temporarily Lifted
A Dubai-based oil shipping company failed in its attempt to have U.K. sanctions temporarily lifted after a London judge ruled Friday that the British foreign secretary has to review the decision to designate the company before the courts have jurisdiction to rule on its claim.
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March 22, 2024
EU Watchdog Fines Ratings Firm €2M For Conflict Of Interest
The markets watchdog of the European Union said Friday that it has fined German credit ratings agency Scope Ratings GmbH €2.2 million ($2.4 million), and issued a public notice after it failed to avoid potential conflicts of interest.
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March 22, 2024
Audit Agency Backs Gov't Non-Financial Reporting Reforms
The Financial Reporting Council voiced its support for the U.K. government's plans to update non-financial reporting requirements on Friday, emphasizing the importance of simplifying the framework to help companies access capital.
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March 21, 2024
Banksy Co. Calls Instagram Post True In £1.3M Libel Case
The company that manages anonymous street artist Banksy has defended a £1.35 million ($1.7 million) claim that he posted a defamatory Instagram post about a licensing company using his artwork on clothing without his permission, saying it was substantially true.
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March 21, 2024
LC&F Was 'Doomed From The Start,' Administrator Tells Trial
An administrator of London Capital & Finance said on Thursday that the mini-bonds provider was "doomed from the start," as he gave evidence at the £237 million ($300 million) investment scandal trial at a London court.
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March 21, 2024
HSBC Settles Investors' £240M Claim Over Disney Tax Scheme
HSBC has settled a £240 million ($304 million) claim brought by more than 100 investors alleging that the bank misled them to finance a Disney film tax relief scheme it developed which turned out to be worthless.
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March 21, 2024
Ex-OneCoin Attorney Says 1 Year In Prison Is Enough
A Bulgarian woman who held the title of legal and compliance executive at the fraudulent OneCoin cryptocurrency exchange asked a Manhattan federal judge to credit her for the year she'd spent in prison in harsh conditions and not sentence her to any more jail time.
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March 28, 2024
White & Case Hires 2nd Funds Pro From Ropes & Gray
White & Case LLP has recruited a private funds lawyer from Ropes & Gray LLP — the second time it has hired a specialist as a partner from the London office of its U.S. rival in recent months.
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March 21, 2024
Influencer Denies Contempt Charge Over 'Lavish Lifestyle'
The founder of a French startup argued against accusations of contempt of court on Thursday after his former company accused him of "flagrantly" breaching a worldwide freezing order by continuing to live a "lavish lifestyle."
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March 21, 2024
Audit Watchdog To Probe UK Sustainability Assurance Market
The Financial Reporting Council on Thursday said it would be studying the quality of sustainability assurance services in the U.K. to ensure the market is providing high-quality guarantees over companies' reporting.
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March 21, 2024
FCA Tells Consumer Lenders To Detect Financial Crime Better
The City watchdog has warned chief executives of consumer lending firms that they must improve on their detection of financial crime.
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March 21, 2024
ECJ Adviser Rejects Taxing Foreign Pension Funds Differently
Taxing dividends paid to foreign public pension funds while exempting dividends paid to the source country's general retirement savings funds contravenes European Union law, an adviser to the bloc's highest court said Thursday, backing Finnish pension funds' challenge of a Swedish law.
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March 21, 2024
Nationwide Agrees To Buy Virgin Money For £2.9B In Cash
Nationwide Building Society said Thursday that it will buy Virgin Money UK for £2.9 billion ($3.7 billion) in cash, in a deal backed by the boards of both companies.
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March 20, 2024
Spanish Investment Co. Beats Slovak TM Opposition In EU
A Spanish investment company has won an appeal to revive its trademark application, as European officials ruled that buyers of financial services paid a "high degree of attention" and wouldn't think that the sign was linked to a Slovak company.
Expert Analysis
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Operational Resilience Considerations In Financial Services
A recent letter from the Financial Conduct Authority reminds CEOs of U.K. wholesale banks of their role in the safety and soundness of markets, but all firms can draw lessons and consider their own operational resilience for longer-term security and commercial benefit, says Richard Tall at Faegre Drinker.
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UK Tech Cases Warn Of Liability Clause Drafting Pitfalls
The recent U.K. High Court cases Drax Energy Solutions v. Wipro and EE v. Virgin Mobile Telecoms indicate a more literal judicial approach to construing limitations of liability, even when this significantly limits a claimant's recoverable damages, highlighting the importance of carefully drafted liability provisions, say Helen Armstrong and Tania Williams at RPC.
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How The UK Investment Screening Regime Is Taking Shape
A recent order imposing remedies on an acquisition by EDF Energy highlights emerging trends in the U.K. government's national security reviews of transactions under the U.K. National Security and Investment Act, and shows how the U.K. remedy landscape compares to the U.S. regime, say lawyers at Arnold & Porter.
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Consultations Underpin Mandatory Fraud Victim Repayment
The U.K. Payment Systems Regulator’s recent consultations on authorized push payment fraud reinforce its June policy expectation, which said that unless there is evidence of gross negligence and the consumer standard of caution has not been followed, providers must reimburse fraud victims, say lawyers at Hogan Lovells.
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Swiss Privacy Law Reforms Present Divergences From GDPR
The differences between Switzerland’s recently reformed Federal Act on Data Protection and the EU's General Data Protection Regulation, particularly around data breach reporting and the liability of company officers, will need to be carefully managed by multinationals that may have competing obligations under different laws, say Kim Roberts and Vanessa Alarcon Duvanel at King & Spalding.
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New Legislation May Not Be Needed For Recovery Of Crypto
The recent seizure of cryptocurrency under a civil recovery order raises the issue of whether extended powers under the forthcoming Economic Crime Bill are necessary, with the ability to seize crypto-related items that may be the subject of a search order more likely to be of assistance, says Nicola McKinney at Quillon Law.
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Opinion
Russia Ruling Should Lead UK To Review Sanctions Policy
The High Court's recent dismissal of the first-ever court challenge to Russian sanctions in Shvidler v. Secretary of State sets a demanding standard for overturning designation decisions, highlighting the need for an independent review of the Russia sanctions regime, says Helen Taylor at Spotlight on Corruption.
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German Competition Law May Herald New Enforcement Trend
The recent amendment to the German Act against Restraints of Competition is expected to significantly expand the powers of the German Federal Cartel Office, and could signal a global trend toward greater direct intervention by national competition authorities and political interference in competition law, say lawyers at Simmons & Simmons.
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New Financial Services Act Leaves Few Firms Untouched
The recently published Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, which replaces retained EU law with U.K. legislation, is one of the most significant pieces of post-Brexit regulation, with key practical implications for actors such as investment firms and crypto-asset and payment service providers, say Tim Cant, Emma Tran and Bisola Williams at Ashurst.
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FCA 'De-Banking' Clampdown May Need Gov't Backing
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority’s recent clampdown on unfair bank account closures will give customers greater transparency, but with terms usually skewed in the bank’s favor, it is a policy matter for the government to enact further protections for businesses and consumers, say Stephen Rosen and Jean-Martin Louw at Collyer Bristow.
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UK Securitization Reform Opts For Modest Approach, For Now
Recently published consultation papers from the U.K. Prudential Regulation and Financial Conduct Authorities on new securitization rules mainly restate retained EU law, but there are some targeted adjustments being proposed and further divergence is to be expected, say Alix Prentice and Assia Damianova at Cadwalader.
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Examining PayPal's Venture Into The Stablecoin Market
PayPal’s recent release of a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar may represent a groundbreaking innovation or could fail as others have before it, and policymakers in the U.K. and the EU will be watching the impact of this new crypto token with a keen eye, say Ben Lee and Dion Seymour at Andersen.
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High Court Dechert Ruling Offers Litigation Privilege Lessons
While the recent High Court ruling in Al Sadeq v. Dechert LLP, which concerned torture conspiracy allegations against the firm, held that litigation privilege can be claimed by a nonparty to proceedings, the exact boundaries of privilege aren't always clear-cut and may necessitate analyzing the underlying principles, says Scott Speirs at Norton Rose.
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FCA Consumer Duty May Pose Enforcement Challenges
The new U.K. Financial Conduct Authority consumer duty sets higher standards of customer protection and transparency for financial services firms, but given the myriad products available across the sector, policing the regulations is going to be a challenging task, says Alessio Ianiello at Keller Postman.
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UK Insolvency Reform Review Shows Measures Are Working
The U.K. Insolvency Service's recently published review of legislative reforms to the corporate insolvency regime demonstrates that despite being underutilized, the measures have been shown to help viable companies survive, and with the current difficult economic environment, will likely be an important aspect of organizational restructuring going forward, says Kirsten Fulton-Fleming at Taylor Wessing.