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Financial Services UK
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August 06, 2024
Travel Biz Directors Misused Funds, Leaving £17.6M Shortfall
Directors of a defunct holiday tour operator left the company with a £17.6 million ($22.3 million) shortfall after racking up debts that were used to pay personal bills and transfer money to relatives, a London judge ruled Tuesday
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August 13, 2024
Davis Polk Hires PE Pro From A&O Shearman In London
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP said Tuesday that it has hired a private equity specialist from Allen Overy Shearman Sterling as a partner in its London corporate practice as the U.S. firm looks to seize "ripe" opportunities for growth in the City.
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August 06, 2024
Forfeiture Gives NCA's Rarely Used 'McMafia' Order A Boost
The seizure by the National Crime Agency of £22 million ($28 million) in properties from a banker's wife who is in prison allowed it to display its "McMafia" powers, although lawyers still have doubts about the future of the rarely-used enforcement tool.
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August 06, 2024
Senior SFO Official Heads For Exit After Less Than 2 Years
The Serious Fraud Office's chief operating officer is set to leave after less than two years on the job, leaving a vacancy at the top of the white-collar crime prosecutor as it undergoes a shake-up in leadership.
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August 06, 2024
BoE Identifies Resolution Issues At Top UK Banks
The Bank of England urged five major U.K. banks on Tuesday to make further enhancements in how they prepare for orderly failure in a report, identifying only at Standard Chartered a shortcoming that could impede resolution.
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August 06, 2024
Pension Body Urges Sector Tech Overhaul After CrowdStrike
The pension industry must take steps to bolster its data security or else put the life savings of millions of Britons at risk, experts warned Tuesday.
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August 06, 2024
Eversheds Steers Sale Of Kodak Unit By Pensions Lifeboat
The U.K. Pension Protection Fund has sold a business unit of photography giant Kodak to U.S. private equity firm Kingswood Capital Management in a deal steered by Eversheds Sutherland and Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
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August 06, 2024
Law Firm Sued Over Negligent Property 'Ponzi Scheme' Advice
Four investors have sued AI Law for £373,000 ($473,000) over the regional English firm's alleged failure to advise them that there is a risk their purchase of leases in apartments was an investment in a potential Ponzi scheme.
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August 06, 2024
Alternative Investor Great Point Enters Into Liquidation
Alternative investment fund manager Great Point Investments Ltd. has wound up its operations and liquidated its assets to pay off creditors after its parent company became insolvent, the financial watchdog said Tuesday.
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August 06, 2024
Brown & Brown Buys Trade Credit Insurance Specialist
Brown & Brown (Europe) Ltd. said Tuesday that it has bought trade credit insurance broker The CI Group Holdings Ltd. to expand its services for lenders and the small and midsized businesses in the U.K.
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August 05, 2024
NCA Not Liable For Regulator's License Withdrawal Decision
A former financial investigator cannot sue the National Crime Agency for losing his license, after an employment tribunal ruled that the agency could lobby on his behalf but couldn't overturn a regulatory body's decision.
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August 05, 2024
Azeri Banker's Wife Forfeits Golf Club, Knightsbridge Home
The wife of a jailed Azeri banker has agreed to forfeit a house and golf course that the National Crime Agency says were bought with embezzled money, the agency announced on Monday.
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August 05, 2024
Glencore Ordered To Pay $152M In Swiss Bribery Case
Switzerland's federal prosecutor ordered commodities trader and miner Glencore on Monday to pay $152 million for failing to prevent bribery linked to the acquisition by a business partner of minority stakes in two mining companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2011.
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August 05, 2024
Most Pension Plans Unclear On Members' Retirement Income
Aon PLC said Monday that almost two-thirds of defined contribution pension plans in Britain do know how much money a typical member can expect in retirement — and welcomed the intention of the new government to make remedying this a priority.
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August 12, 2024
Goodwin Adds Secondaries Partner From Dechert In London
Goodwin Procter LLP has tapped private investment funds partner Thiha Tun to work in its London office from Dechert LLP.
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August 05, 2024
FRC Tightens Accounting Guidance, Extends It To Listed Firms
Britain's accounting watchdog on Monday proposed tighter guidance for directors to assess whether a company is a "going concern" and broadened its application to the largest listed companies, after some high-profile corporate failures.
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August 05, 2024
Gov't Warned Over Tapping Pensions For Economic Growth
The Labour government must remember that the "primary role" of pensions is to support retirees in later life amid growing efforts to use the trillion-pound sector to drive economic growth, Royal London has warned.
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August 05, 2024
Ukraine War Shifts Contours Of Russian Litigation Landscape
The war in Ukraine and global sanctions have caused the number of Russian litigants using England's commercial courts to tumble dramatically, and lawyers expect that the consequences of the invasion will continue to influence the disputes landscape.
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August 05, 2024
Unauthorized Mortgage Broker Must Pay £4M To FCA
A court has ordered two unauthorized investment firms that misled vulnerable people into handing over their homes to hand over £4 million ($5.1 million) to the Financial Conduct Authority, the regulator said Monday
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August 05, 2024
SocGen Sells 2 Banking Units To Swiss Bank For €900M
Societe Generale said Monday that it has agreed to sell two of its private banking subsidiaries in the U.K. and Switzerland to a Swiss bank for €900 million ($990 million), as well as all its business in Madagascar, in a move to streamline its business.
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August 12, 2024
Paul Hastings Hires Finance Pro From Weil In London
Paul Hastings LLP has recruited a structured finance partner and two other lawyers from Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP in London, the latest to move from its U.S. rival, as the firm boosts its services for clients in asset-backed finance transactions.
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August 02, 2024
S. Korea Loses Bid To Set Aside $48.5M Hedge Fund Award
A London court has upheld a $48.5 million arbitral award favoring hedge fund Elliott Associates LP against South Korea in a dispute over a government bribery scandal that allegedly underpinned the $8 billion merger of two Samsung affiliates in 2015.
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August 02, 2024
Self-Styled 'Business Guru' Faces Investor's £5.6M Fraud Case
An investor has hit a self-styled business guru with a £5.6 million ($7.2 million) fraud claim, accusing the entrepreneur of running a Ponzi scheme and of duping him into funding a loan for a luxury hotel development that was never lent.
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August 02, 2024
Property Investor Denies Hiding Info From Franchise Buyers
A real estate investment scheme's former owner has hit back at a £6.4 million ($8.1 million) counterclaim by the management consultancy that acquired it, saying in London court documents that he did not conceal any important information and that he had not breached any agreement.
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August 02, 2024
Taxation With Representation: Sullivan, Dechert, Kirkland
In this week's Taxation With Representation, BNP Parabis SA acquires an investment management subsidiary for €5.1 billion, Cleveland accounting firm CBIZ merges with competitor Marcum for $2.3 billion, and Arcosa Inc. inks a deal with a family-owned construction materials business for $1.2 billion.
Expert Analysis
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5 Takeaways From ICO's Biometric Recognition Guidance
Recent guidance from the U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office is a helpful reminder of key data protection principles and obligations stemming from the U.K. General Data Protection Regulation that organizations should consider when implementing biometric recognition technology, say lawyers at Dechert.
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Shifting From Technical To Clear Insurance Contract Wordings
Recent developments on insurance policies, including the Financial Conduct Authority's new consumer duty, represent a major shift for insurers and highlight the importance of drafting policies that actively improve understanding, rather than shift the onus onto the end user, say Tamsin Hyland and Jonathan Charwat at RPC.
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A Case For The Green Investment Regime Under The ECT
The EU and U.K.'s potential plans to exit the Energy Charter Treaty, which has been criticized as protecting fossil fuel investments to the detriment of energy transition, ignore the significant strides taken to modernize the treaty and its ability to promote investment in cleaner energy forms, say Amy Frey and Simon Maynard at King & Spalding.
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Considerations For Fund Managers Seeking Retail Investment
With recent legal developments, including a revised Long Term Investment Funds Regulation effective in 2024, supporting the market trend of retailization, there are several practical considerations for alternative fund managers embarking on a European fundraise for retail capital, say Zac Mellor-Clark and Kate Downey at Fried Frank.
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FDI Considerations For UK Venture Capital Transactions
With the U.K. National Security and Investment Act highlighting foreign direct investment matters for venture capital transactions, investors dealing with companies connected to the U.K. should be alive to how the act's requirements can affect deal timelines, structures and terms, say lawyers at Covington.
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How Employers Can Support Neurodiversity In The Workplace
A recent run of cases emphasize employers' duties to make reasonable adjustments for neurodiverse employees under the Equalities Act, illustrating the importance of investing in staff education and listening to neurodivergent workers to improve recruitment, retention and productivity in the workplace, say Anna Henderson and Tim Leaver at Herbert Smith.
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What The Anti-Coercion Instrument Will Bring To The EU
Vassilis Akritidis and Jean-Baptiste Blancardi at Crowell & Moring discuss why the European Union recently adopted a report on the anti-coercion instrument to reform its trade legislation, how the instrument will be used to respond to unfair economic pressure from third countries, and how businesses can impact the EU's decision making.
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Why FCA Crypto Rules Need To Align With UK Gov't Aims
There is a critical need for cryptocurrency regulations that protect consumers while supporting the government's aim to make the U.K. a crypto hub, but the Financial Conduct Authority’s recently effective rules on financial promotion of crypto-assets bring an unintended risk that legitimate firms will be driven out of the market, says Laura Navarathnam at the Crypto Council for Innovation.
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CMA Report On AI May Lead to Greater Competition Control
The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority’s recent report on artificial intelligence foundation models is a sign that developers could face increased merger control and antitrust enforcement, and businesses should be mindful of these views to ensure that their models do not come under investigation, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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UK Mozambique Ruling Will Have Int'l Ramifications
The recent U.K. Supreme Court judgment in Mozambique v. Privinvest considered for the first time stay proceedings under the Arbitration Act, offering guidance on whether claims are a "matter" within the scope of an arbitration clause, which could become a point of reference for foreign courts in the future, say lawyers at Herbert Smith.
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Recent Trends In European ESG-Related Shareholder Activism
New ESG reporting standards in the European Union, as well as recent climate change, board diversity and human rights cases, illustrate how shareholder activism may become more prominent in years to come as regulation and investor engagement continues to strengthen, say lawyers at Debevoise.
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Audit Regulator Review Has Tips On Climate Metric Reporting
The U.K. Financial Reporting Council’s recent review of climate-related metrics and targets in listed companies’ annual reports is an extremely useful guide for issuers considering the quality of their disclosure reporting, with a number of key areas identified as central to further improvement, say lawyers at Bryan Cave.
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What Russia Case Reveals About UK Sanctions Enforcement
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation recently issued its first enforcement action under the U.K.'s expanded Russia sanctions against a relatively small company for a moderately severe breach — a decision that highlights several questions about the watchdog’s purpose and methods, say Maia Cohen-Lask and Tasha Benkhadra at Corker Binning.
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Breaking Down The UK's Draft Updates To Prospectus Regime
While there still may be changes, the U.K.'s near-final draft statutory instrument to update and in some parts replace the current on-shored EU prospectus regime is likely to represent a significant overhaul of the existing regime and may make U.K. capital markets a more attractive venue for listings for issuers, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Italy's Bank-Profits Tax Plan May Become Model For Eurozone
If Italy's recently proposed 40% bank-profits tax helps keep its populist coalition government in power, notwithstanding the European Central Bank's legal challenges, the passage could spark a windfall tax trend across the eurozone and even in the U.K., says Cris Cicala at Stinson.