Corporate Crime & Compliance UK

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Starmer Could Crack Judicial Crisis, Former CPS Chiefs Say

Keir Starmer's lead in the polls as the general election in July approaches has sparked hopes among criminal justice advocates that the Labour leader — a former top prosecutor — will implement reforms as prime minister.
June 11, 2024
PC Gaming Giant Valve Faces £656M Action For Overcharging

Valve Corp., owner of the world's largest video game distribution platform, Steam, has been hit with a proposed £656 million ($836 million) class action for allegedly overcharging 14 million PC gamers in the U.K., the digital rights campaigner filing the claim announced Wednesday.
June 11, 2024
UniCredit Overturns $69M Plane Payment Sanctions Ruling

UniCredit was entitled to withhold $69.3 million in payments to lessors for Russian planes because of sanctions, a London appellate court ruled Tuesday, partly overturning findings that it was not reasonable for the bank's U.K. branch to believe it could not make the payments.
June 11, 2024
KC Advised Post Office To Remove Judge From Horizon Trial

A top barrister advised the Post Office to get a High Court judge to recuse himself from a trial dealing with wrongly prosecuted subpostmasters or else risk losing all litigation brought by the subpostmasters, the barrister recalled in an inquiry hearing Tuesday regarding the scandal.
June 11, 2024
Tories Pledge To Tackle Court Backlog, Carry On Rwanda Plan

The Conservative Party announced a slew of justice plans on Tuesday to cut the criminal court backlog, support third-party litigation funding and abandon international human rights commitments, if necessary, to pursue its Rwanda migrants policy.
June 11, 2024
Serco Denies Directors Knew Of Fraud In Securities Trial

Serco Group PLC denied investors are entitled to compensation over a fraud that caused the outsourcing giant's share price to nosedive, arguing on the second day of a London trial Tuesday that none of its directors had known about the alleged wrongdoing.
June 11, 2024
Widow Who Signed Docs 'Without Reading' Still Owes $64M

A London appellate court has ruled that a former Hong Kong resident can't escape a personal guarantee to pay 500 million Hong Kong dollars ($64 million) to cover bonds issued by her husband's company, in part because she entered the contract for business purposes.
June 11, 2024
FCA Eyes Consumer Impact Of New Legal Cooperation Rules

The Financial Conduct Authority has set out how it is working with the Financial Ombudsman Service and other bodies under a new duty of legal cooperation required by the Consumer Duty and changing payments regulations.
June 11, 2024
LC&F Administrators Attack Ex-Boss' Credibility In Ponzi Case

The administrators of London Capital & Finance PLC have criticized the company's former head as a "thoroughly unreliable witness" as they closed their case that he and others operated the business as a £237 million ($302 million) Ponzi scheme.
June 11, 2024
BHS Directors To Pay Liquidators £27M For Wrongful Trading

A London judge ordered two former directors of failed retail chain BHS on Tuesday to each pay liquidators £13.5 million ($17 million) after finding that they knew that the company was beyond rescue when it was purchased in 2015.
June 10, 2024
23andMe Faces UK-Canadian Probe Into Data Breach

The U.K. and Canada said Monday that they are jointly investigating a data breach at genetic testing company 23andMe, which allowed hackers to access data from 6.9 million users.
June 10, 2024
Man Gets 1 Year For Manslaughter Of Ex-Boss In 2006 Attack

An Albanian man was sentenced to a year in prison Monday for killing his former boss, after the Crown Prosecution Service linked the victim's life-altering head injuries from an attack nearly two decades ago to his death in 2017.
June 10, 2024
Serco Accused Of Playing Around With Books As Trial Opens

Institutional investors told a London court Monday that Serco had "played around" with its financial reporting to keeping the government from clocking fraud in its contract for electronic tagging services as a landmark securities trial kicked off.
June 10, 2024
European Financial Body Calls On UK To Clarify AML Reforms

A European body representing financial market participants has called on HM Treasury to provide more clarity in the Money Laundering Regulations through planned amendments, including by specifying the exact point when a firm must check a potential customer's background.
June 10, 2024
Amazon Sold Facial Tech To Russia, Ex-Employee Alleges

A former Amazon worker has alleged that the technology giant sold facial recognition software to a Russian company in violation of U.K. sanctions.
June 07, 2024
Feds Charge UK Trio Over $2M 'Evolved Apes' NFT Scheme

Three United Kingdom residents face criminal wire fraud and money laundering charges brought by federal prosecutors in Manhattan alleging they misappropriated cryptocurrency worth roughly $2 million as part of a "rug pull scheme" involving the digital assets known as non-fungible tokens.
June 07, 2024
Merchants Get OK For Visa, Mastercard Fees Suit On 2nd Try

A group of merchants got a tentative go-ahead Friday to bring a collective action accusing Visa and Mastercard of unfairly imposing interchange fees on retailers after revising weaknesses in the initial proposal at the U.K.'s specialist antitrust court.
June 07, 2024
Crypto Developers Fight To Gag Wright After 'Satoshi' Trial

A group of cryptocurrency asset developers urged a London judge on Friday to order Australian computer scientist Craig Wright to never again assert that he is the pseudonymous inventor of bitcoin Satoshi Nakamoto, arguing it was the best way to end his "campaign of dishonesty."
June 07, 2024
Axed Telecom CEO Loses Early Battle In Whistleblower Suit

A former interim chief executive officer at a telecom company has failed for now to get her job back, with a tribunal saying it was unconvinced by her early-stage claim that she was unfairly dismissed for calling out allegedly unlawful business proposals that would breach agreements with HSBC.
June 07, 2024
Former Allianz Unit Exec Admits Role In $6B Fund Fraud

A former portfolio manager at Allianz SE's U.S. unit told a Manhattan federal judge Friday that he lied to investors about the risks of the German finance giant's now-defunct Structured Alpha Funds, admitting to his role in a $6 billion fraud.
June 07, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

The past week in London has seen British broadcaster GB News hit with a libel claim by climate activist Dale Vince, MGM take aim at an immersive events company over intellectual property rights to the James Bond franchise, and law firms Stephenson Harwood and Bowen-Morris & Partners tackle a contracts claim by investment adviser Yieldstreet. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
June 07, 2024
Trio Make First Appearance In FCA's £8M Pension Fraud Case

Three consultants made their first court appearance on fraud charges in London on Friday to face allegations by the Financial Conduct Authority over an investment scheme in which victims lost £8 million ($10.1 million) of their pension savings.
June 07, 2024
Financial Adviser Gets 8 Years For Legal Funding Fraud

A London judge sentenced a former financial adviser to eight years in prison on Friday after he was convicted of siphoning £5.8 million ($7.4 million) in secret commission payments from an investment fund in a legal financing fraud.
June 07, 2024
Swiss Finance Watchdog Issues New Cyber Warnings

Switzerland's financial markets regulator issued new guidance for all regulated firms on Friday, telling them how to manage cyber risks after finding that many are failing to take the right steps to prevent attacks, including those against the service providers they use.
June 07, 2024
Ex-Goldman Sachs Banker Loses Bribery Extradition Fight

A former Goldman Sachs banker has lost his fight to avoid being extradited to the U.S. for allegedly bribing Ghanaian officials, as a London court ruled on Friday that the alleged crimes were sufficiently linked to America to be tried there.
June 06, 2024
Ex-Autonomy CEO, VP Both Cleared In HP Criminal Fraud Trial

A California federal jury on Thursday acquitted former Autonomy CEO Michael Lynch and former finance Vice President Stephen Chamberlain of criminal fraud and conspiracy charges following an 11-week trial over allegations that the two conned HP into overpaying billions for the British tech company.

Editor's Picks

Pillsbury's New UK White Collar Chief Eyes Success In London

Former Serious Fraud Office "powerhouse" Audrey Koh is in the building, and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman says it now has the tools to launch its white-collar and corporate investigations practice in London. Here, Koh and managing partner Matthew Oresman survey the legal landscape.
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.
SFO's Ephgrave Targets Fraud In Push To Kick Down Doors

The Serious Fraud Office's fifth new investigation in the five months since Nick Ephgrave took the helm shows the watchdog has focused on domestic fraud cases and delivered on the director's pledge to be bolder, lawyers say.

Expert Analysis

How Law Firms Can Handle Challenges Of Mass Claims

With a wave of volume litigation possibly about to hit the U.K. courts, firms developing mass claim practices should ensure they heed the Solicitors Regulation Authority's May warning and adopt strategies to ensure regulatory compliance and fair client representation, says Claire Van der Zant at Shieldpay.
EU Directive Significantly Strengthens Enviro Protection

The recently revised European Union directive on environmental protection significantly strengthens its prior legislation and broadens the scope of environmental crime through the introduction of offenses for conduct resulting in severe damage, say Katharina Humphrey and Julian Reichert at Gibson Dunn.
How Revision Of The EU Works Directive May Affect Cos.

The European Union’s proposed revision of the Works Councils Directive, motivated by perceived shortcomings of existing legislation and the transformation of the world of work, includes significant changes that would increase workers' rights, including through strengthened enforcement and confidentiality provisions, says Thomas Player at Eversheds Sutherland.
What The New Digital Markets Bill Will Mean For Companies

The recently passed Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill will bring significant reform to U.K. merger control and antitrust rules for all businesses, but the introduction of a strategic market status regime and its reporting obligations means large tech organizations in particular need to think carefully about the forthcoming changes, say lawyers at Linklaters.
EU's AI Act: Pitfalls And Opportunities For Data Collectors

The European Union’s new Artificial Intelligence Act entails explicit requirements and limitations throughout the AI value chain that might affect firms directly or indirectly dealing with AI development, such as data-as-a-service companies and web scraping providers, says Denas Grybauskas at Oxylabs.
FCA Doubles Down On New Priorities With Target ID Plan

Respondents to the Financial Conduct Authority’s recent consultation on its plan to publicly name subjects under investigation are concerned that the regulator’s cost-benefit analysis has not adequately considered the risks, but the FCA is holding firm, and it seems likely the changes will be implemented, says James Tyler at Peters & Peters.
Insurance Ruling Stresses High Hurdle To Fix Policy Wording

In Project Angel v. Axis, the Court of Appeal recently refused to rewrite the exclusion clause of an insurance policy, reminding parties in the warranty and indemnity market to carefully word clauses, as there is a high threshold before courts will intervene to amend policies, say Joseph Moore and Laura McCann at Travers Smith.
CMA Reports Signal Tighter Scrutiny Of AI Model Markets

The Competition and Markets Authority’s recent reports on artificial intelligence foundation models suggest that competition in AI is not working as it should, so large digital firms can expect the regulator to use its full toolbox as it continues to monitor and investigate the sector, say lawyers at Cooley.
Taking Stock Of Changes UK Economic Crime Act Will Bring

With more than six months since the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act's enactment, it is time to look at the steps organizations can take to prepare for imminent changes, including the new failure to prevent fraud offense and extensions to Companies House authority, say lawyers at Mayer Brown.
Examining Senior Managers' Accountability For AI Use

With the Financial Conduct Authority's artificial intelligence update and the Prudential Regulation Authority’s letter to the government offering key guidance on the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, Senior Managers in these organizations need to show they have taken steps to prevent breaching requirements in order not to be held personally accountable, says Jennifer Holyoake at DLA Piper.
FCA Brokerage Changes Offer Asset Managers Wider Options

The Financial Conduct Authority’s fast-tracked plan to lift its controversial ban on joint payments to broker-dealers for third-party services will be welcomed by many asset managers wishing to return to a soft commission structure, say Richard Frase and Simon Wright at Dechert.
What Cos. Should Know About The EU Greenwashing Rules

The EU's recently proposed Green Claims Directive introduces new rules to improve the transparency and honesty of environmental claims in advertising, which will help ensure that consumers receive accurate and reliable information to make informed purchasing decisions, says Daja Apetz-Dreier at Morgan Lewis.
Sanctions Ruling Opens Door For Enforcer To Clear Up Rules

In Vneshprombank v. Bedzhamov, the High Court recently argued against a broader interpretation of the test on reasonable suspicion for asset freezes, offering the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation an opportunity to clarify when freezes should be applied and respond to judicial criticism of its guidance on financial sanctions, says Tasha Benkhadra at Corker Binning.
How Gov't Response Addresses Investment Act Concerns

The government’s recently published response to a call for evidence on the National Security and Investment Act is largely appropriate to stakeholder concerns raised and demonstrates in its five areas of focus that it is willing to respond to live issues, say lawyers at Watson Farley.
New Legislation May Jeopardize The Future Of Data Protection

While U.K. officials argue that the recently enacted Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Act seeks to enhance national security and the pending Data Protection and Digital Information Bill aims to modernize data protection regulations, both give rise to concerns about achieving a balance between security needs and individual liberties, says Maria Moloney at PrivacyEngine.