Reluctance among lawyers to raise the alarm on suspicious clients is hampering the fight against economic crime as companies wrestle with legal and cultural issues that could land them in hot water with regulators.
The Serious Fraud Office's bribery settlement with a British defense contractor underscores the agency's policy shift toward cutting deals in less than ideal circumstances, offering a blueprint on how to realign derailed negotiations, lawyers say.
New legislation laid out in the King's Speech on Wednesday included the government's plans for a bill to strengthen trading ties with the European Union alongside an Enhancing Financial Services Bill in the next 12 months, but lawyers warn that the scope remains limited with potential unexpected consequences.
New powers that put companies on the chopping block for crimes committed by their executives dramatically expand corporate liability to include a wider array of offenses, which businesses already struggling with "compliance fatigue" have barely begun to grapple with, lawyers say.
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Reluctance among lawyers to raise the alarm on suspicious clients is hampering the fight against economic crime as companies wrestle with legal and cultural issues that could land them in hot water with regulators.
The Serious Fraud Office's bribery settlement with a British defense contractor underscores the agency's policy shift toward cutting deals in less than ideal circumstances, offering a blueprint on how to realign derailed negotiations, lawyers say.
New legislation laid out in the King's Speech on Wednesday included the government's plans for a bill to strengthen trading ties with the European Union alongside an Enhancing Financial Services Bill in the next 12 months, but lawyers warn that the scope remains limited with potential unexpected consequences.
New powers that put companies on the chopping block for crimes committed by their executives dramatically expand corporate liability to include a wider array of offenses, which businesses already struggling with "compliance fatigue" have barely begun to grapple with, lawyers say.
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May 27, 2026
Italian authorities arrested the suspected leaders of a criminal organization that defrauded European Union governments of more than €78 million ($90.7 million) in value-added taxes on hygiene and household products, the European Public Prosecutor's Office said Wednesday.
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May 27, 2026
Mashreq, a former major lender to the collapsed private equity giant Abraaj Group, has sued three Abraaj entities after a London court upheld the bank's claim to a disputed $37 million debt assigned as security for a 2017 loan extension.
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May 27, 2026
The Financial Conduct Authority warned Wednesday that some companies are failing in their responsibilities by approving adverts that are released by non-FCA regulated businesses.
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May 27, 2026
The Insurance Fraud Bureau said on Wednesday that the east London borough of Barking and Dagenham has the highest level of fraudulent motor insurance claims in England, amid a continued year-on-year rise in scams in the U.K.
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May 27, 2026
The Association for Financial Markets in Europe has warned that rules proposed by the EU's banking watchdog must not lead to national regulators finding senior managers unsuitable because of anti-money laundering failings at company level.
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May 27, 2026
A disciplinary tribunal struck off a former Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor on Wednesday after finding his convictions for child cruelty and assault had undermined the public's trust and confidence in the solicitors' profession.
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May 26, 2026
Revolut has hit back at a tech marketing company's claim against it over transactions made by someone impersonating the online finance company's fraud team, saying that the company had negligently failed to keep its account secure.
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May 26, 2026
The Home Office said Tuesday that the European Union has joined a U.K.-led international pact to tackle fraud, promising closer co-operation between governments, banks, telecom companies and technology giants to disrupt online scams.
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May 26, 2026
A global exchange association set out rules on Tuesday for how stock exchanges should classify listed companies in the transition toward a green economy.
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May 26, 2026
The government announced a new round of sanctions on Tuesday, aimed at stopping Russia from using cryptocurrency networks and foreign financial systems to evade financial and trade restrictions imposed as a result of the Ukraine war.
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May 26, 2026
European Union prosecutors said Tuesday they have indicted a company and three individuals for subsidy fraud and document forgery over an allegedly bogus request for a €2.5 million ($2.9 million) post-earthquake reconstruction grant.
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May 26, 2026
A Turkish aircraft lessor has sued a property finance company after it allegedly refused to hand over a $27.7 million private jet, this after the arrest of the lessor's former chairman over a football gambling probe delayed payment for the plane.
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May 26, 2026
Oil giant BP said Tuesday that it has removed its chair over "serious concerns" about "important governance standards, oversight and conduct."
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May 26, 2026
The regulatory arm of the Bank of England is stress-testing the insurance sector to assess how well it would respond to the fallout from a massive cyberattack in conjunction with a string of natural catastrophes, a trade body said on Tuesday.
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May 23, 2026
An expert working for the Serious Fraud Office paid bribes to public officials in Sierra Leone to secure evidence for the agency's London Mining prosecution, three defendants cleared of charges have alleged.
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May 22, 2026
The owners of a vessel were entitled to refuse to load a cargo by an oil company allegedly part-owned by an oligarch with links to Belarus after an appeals court held Friday they reasonably feared they would breach sanctions.
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May 22, 2026
The former owners of PrivatBank failed on Friday to overturn a finding that they owe the Ukrainian lender $3 billion, as an appeals court rejected their argument that its acceptance of a later repayment "extinguished" the loss resulting from their fraudulent loan recycling scheme.
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May 22, 2026
Administrators of a company linked to Market Financial Solutions have sued Paresh Raja, the collapsed lender's owner, in a London court for alleged breach of fiduciary duty — the latest in growing litigation surrounding the mortgage scandal.
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May 22, 2026
The past week in London has seen Napster sued by a music royalties company, White & Case LLP and Laytons LLP targeted in a claim by a property developer, a short-term lender pursue legal action against law firm Rainer Hughes and its former founding partner following his strike-off for money laundering offenses, and the administrators of London Bridging sue the founder of collapsed Market Financial Solutions. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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May 21, 2026
The European Union's top court issued a series of judgments on Thursday reinforcing the bloc's ability to look past trusts to identify assets that individuals benefit from in order to enforce sanctions.
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May 21, 2026
Two businesses urged Britain's highest court on Thursday to rule that whistleblowers suing over unfair dismissal cannot also pursue separate claims for detriment arising from the same dismissal in a case that could reshape the scope of protection under the Employment Rights Act.
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May 21, 2026
U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves announced plans Thursday to restrict offshore tax planning by energy multinationals as part of a series of fiscal measures, including cuts to fuel duty and value-added tax.
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May 21, 2026
The former boss of London Capital & Finance PLC was hit with a six-month prison sentence Thursday for breaching an order imposed by the Serious Fraud Office during an investigation into the £237 million ($317.9 million) collapse of the company.
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May 21, 2026
An English appeals court ruled Thursday that the Solicitors Regulation Authority might have to pay Dentons more than £515,000 ($690,000) over the watchdog's failed attempt to prosecute the firm for breaching the U.K.'s money laundering rules.
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May 21, 2026
The Information Commissioner's Office said Thursday it had secured a confiscation order of more than £355,000 ($476,000) against a former motor insurance worker convicted of unlawfully accessing and selling personal data for financial gain.