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Corporate Crime & Compliance UK
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July 25, 2024
Coinbase Unit Fined £3.5M For Crypto-Related Breaches
The Financial Conduct Authority said Thursday it has fined a payments company £3.5 million ($4.5 million) for "repeatedly breaching" restrictions against enabling crypto-asset trading, the first time the watchdog has taken enforcement action under regulations governing electronic money.
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July 24, 2024
Ex-Barclays CEO Told To Testify In Appeal Of Qatar Fees Fine
Former Barclays CEO John Varley was ordered by a London tribunal Wednesday to give evidence in the bank's appeal against a £50 million ($64.6 million) fine over its emergency fundraising with Qatar during the 2008 financial crash.
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July 24, 2024
Gas Plant Subcontractor Can't Ax £165M Fraud Claims
A London appeals court refused to block an engineering company's £165 million ($213 million) fraud claims Wednesday, ruling that although the action should have been brought earlier, it is genuine, and the delay has caused little difference to the case's progression.
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July 24, 2024
EU Trade Body Warns Against FCA Enforcement Plans
A trade body for European financial firms has warned that the Financial Conduct Authority's proposed naming of companies in enforcement investigations would make the U.K. an international outlier, damaging competitiveness.
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July 24, 2024
Cuban Bank Denies Transferring €72M Debt To Offshore Fund
Cuba's former central bank told an English appeals court Wednesday that an offshore fund cannot sue it over €72 million ($78.2 million) of unpaid sovereign debt, because it did not consent to the assignment of the debt to the fund.
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July 24, 2024
Gov't Backs Off Plans To Expand Scope of Anti-SLAPPs Laws
A government minister declined to say on Wednesday when politicians might introduce legislation to prevent powerful elites from making abusive legal claims to silence public scrutiny, saying they have to balance access to justice with legitimate claims.
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July 24, 2024
Russia Sanctions Enforcement Lacks Bite, UK Charity Says
Britain must develop a clearer sanctions enforcement strategy, an anti-corruption charity said on Wednesday, as it revealed that the government has issued no fines for breaches of rules since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, more than two years ago.
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July 24, 2024
UK Bans 830 Directors For COVID Loan Abuse In 12 Months
Hundreds of company directors have been banned in the last year as a result of COVID loan abuse, the Insolvency Service said Wednesday, adding that it has recovered almost £3 million ($3.8 million) of taxpayers' money.
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July 24, 2024
SRA Reports 2 Law Firms For Suspected Sanctions Breaches
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has reported two law firms to the sanctions watchdog for suspected breaches of measures against Russia for the first time since the invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago.
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July 24, 2024
British Steel Pension Redress Scheme Pays Out £8.7M
The Financial Conduct Authority said Wednesday that its redress program for steelworkers given poor pensions advice has paid out a total of just £8.7 million ($11.2 million) in compensation.
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July 23, 2024
US, UK, EU Antitrust Enforcers Outline AI Principles
The top antitrust officials from the U.S. Justice Department, the Federal Trade Commission, the European Commission and the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority presented a unified international commitment Tuesday to closely monitor artificial intelligence technology and the companies that they warned could wield AI anticompetitively.
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July 23, 2024
'Bully' Solicitor Who Showed Paralegal Lewd Pix Struck Off
A solicitor accused of bullying "vulnerable" junior colleagues and showing a paralegal pornographic pictures on his phone was struck off by a tribunal Tuesday.
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July 23, 2024
BHP Told To Stop Funding Brazil Dam Claim Ahead Of UK Trial
A London judge on Tuesday blocked mining group BHP from taking part in legal action that aims to prevent some Brazilian municipalities from participating in £36 billion ($46.4 billion) group litigation over one of the country's worst environmental disasters.
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July 23, 2024
Post Office's Top In-House Lawyer Takes 'Temporary' Leave
The general counsel of the Post Office and its primary liaison for the public inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal has taken a "temporary" leave of absence, the organization has confirmed.
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July 23, 2024
Lloyds Sued Over Payments Linked To Alleged £1.2B Fraud
Lloyds and its Bank of Scotland subsidiary have been hit with a £287 million ($370 million) claim brought by liquidators of the external broadcaster Arena Television for allegedly processing payments linked to an alleged £1.2 billion fraud.
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July 23, 2024
SFO Hires Former Met Police Officer As Strategy Chief
A former senior London police officer with a background in economic crime has been tapped to oversee the Serious Fraud Office's strategy, reuniting with his former chief as director Nick Ephgrave fills the vacant role on his executive team.
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July 23, 2024
Bond Administrator Enters Liquidation After FCA Restrictions
The Financial Conduct Authority has confirmed that a London-based bond administrator has entered into liquidation nearly a year after the financial watchdog imposed restrictions on the company over "serious concerns" about its systems and controls.
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July 22, 2024
Derivatives Co. Bids To Reinstate Freeze In Global Fraud Case
International derivatives provider Multibank urged a London appeals court Monday to reimpose an asset freezing order on a German financial services company and its director, arguing that the judge applied the wrong legal tests when deciding whether to lift the restrictions.
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July 22, 2024
NatWest Fends Off Bid To Revive Design School Fraud Case
The Court of Appeal on Monday ruled that the founders of an interior design school could not revive a fraud claim against NatWest because a settlement they penned with the bank prevented the pair from bringing any further claims.
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July 22, 2024
Barclays Bids To Cut £330M From 'Dark Pool' Securities Claim
Barclays urged a London court on Monday to cut claims worth £330 million ($426 million) from securities fraud litigation, arguing that some institutional investors were unaware of a regulatory announcement issued by the bank about its "dark pool" trading platform.
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July 22, 2024
Hoka Accused Of Fixing Retail Prices As Trial Kicks Off
A British running shoe store chain on Monday accused the sneaker maker behind Hoka of fixing retail prices by blocking the seller from using an online discount store, kicking off its trial at the U.K.'s specialist antitrust tribunal.
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July 22, 2024
Foul-Mouthed Lawyer Showed Junior Colleague Lewd Pix
A solicitor bullied junior colleagues in profanity-laced rants and showed a paralegal pornographic pictures on his phone, the Solicitors Regulation Authority told a tribunal Monday.
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July 22, 2024
Meta Hit With Fresh Complaint Over 'Pay Or Consent' Model
Meta has been hit with a complaint from European consumer protection authorities, which fear that the tech giant's "pay or consent" business model for Facebook and Instagram misleads its users, the European Commission said on Monday.
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July 22, 2024
EU Renews Russian Financial Sanctions For 6 Months
The Council of the European Union said Monday that it has extended financial sanctions against Russia for an additional six months in response to the Kremlin's "unprovoked, unjustified and illegal" war against Ukraine.
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July 22, 2024
UK Eases Reporting Rules For Investment Stewardship
Britain's accounting watchdog unveiled changes to the U.K.'s stewardship code for investment on Monday that it said would help reduce the reporting burden for investors.
Expert Analysis
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Independent Regulator Could Chip Away At FIFA Autonomy
After the U.K.'s recent proposal for an independent football regulator, FIFA's commitment to safeguarding football association autonomy remains unwavering, despite a history of complexities arising from controversies in the bidding and hosting of major tournaments, say Yasin Patel at Church Court Chambers and Caitlin Haberlin-Chambers at SLAM Global.
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A Look At The Latest EU Alternative Investment Regulation
Recent amendments to the EU Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive governing a range of alternative investment funds reflect a growing regulatory focus on nonbanking financial institutions, which expand credit to support economic growth but carry a commensurate risk, say Juliette Mills and Alix Prentice at Cadwalader.
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Unpacking The Law Commission's Digital Assets Consultation
The Law Commission recently published a consultation on recognizing a third personal property category to accommodate the development of digital assets, highlighting difficulties with current models of property rights and the potential consequences of considering digital assets as personal property, say Andrew Tsang and Tom Bacon at BCLP.
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Unpacking The FCA's Approach To AML Compliance Failures
In light of the upward trend of skilled-person reviews by the Financial Conduct Authority, including the latest investigation into Lloyds' anti-money laundering controls, financial firms should familiarize themselves with the mechanisms of FCA supervision and enforcement investigations, says Kathryn Westmore at RUSI.
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New Russia Sanctions Reveal Int'l Enforcement Capabilities
Significant new U.K., U.S. and EU sanctions imposed on Russia notably target Europe-based individuals and entities accused of sanctions evasion, and with an apparent political will to enhance capabilities, the rhetoric is translating into international enforcement activity, say lawyers at Cadwalader.
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Legal Sector Will Benefit From New Data Security Standard
The U.K. Information Commissioner's Office-approved new privacy certification scheme for the legal profession will inevitably become the default for law firms, chambers and vendors to prove their U.K. General Data Protection Regulation compliance, says Orlagh Kelly at Briefed.
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Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents
Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.
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EU Inquiry Offers First Insight Into Foreign Subsidy Law
The European Commission's first in-depth investigation under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation into a public procurement process, and subsequent brief on regulatory trends, sheds light on the commission's approach to such cases, as well as jurisdictional, procedural and substantive issues under the regulation, says Matthew Hall at McGuireWoods.
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Opinion
PACCAR Should Be 1st Step To Regulating Litigation Funders
Rather than reversing the U.K. Supreme Court's well-reasoned judgment in PACCAR v. Competition Appeal Tribunal, imposing a regulatory regime on litigation funders in parity with that of lawyers, legislators should build upon it to create a more transparent, competitive and fairer funding industry, says Rosa Curling at Foxglove.
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EEA Equivalence Statement Is Welcomed By Fund Managers
The recent statement confirming European Economic Area equivalence to undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities for U.K. overseas funds regime purposes removes many managers’ concerns in the wake of Brexit, giving a clear pathway out of temporary marketing permissions and easing the transition from one regime to another, says Catherine Weeks at Simmons & Simmons.
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In Int'l Arbitration Agreements, Be Clear About Governing Law
A trilogy of recent cases in the English High Court and Court of Appeal highlight the importance of parties agreeing to explicit choice of law language at the outset of an arbitration agreement in order to avoid costly legal skirmishes down the road, say lawyers at Faegre Drinker.
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Post Office Scandal Stresses Key Directors Duties Lessons
The Post Office scandal, involving hundreds of wrongful convictions of subpostmasters based on an IT failure, offers lessons for company directors on the magnitude of the impact that a failure to fulfill their duties can have on employees and the company, says Simon Goldberg at Simons Muirhead.
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Employer Tips For Handling Data Subject Access Requests
As employers face numerous employee data-subject access requests — and the attendant risks of complaints to the Information Commissioner's Office — issues such as managing deadlines and sifting through data make compliance more difficult, highlighting the importance of efficient internal processes and clear communication when responding to a request, say Gwynneth Tan and Amy Leech at Shoosmiths.
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Comparing UK And EU's View On 3rd-Party Service Providers
The U.K. is taking welcome steps to address the lack of direct oversight over critical third-party service providers, and although less onerous than that of the EU Digital Operational Resilience Act, the U.K. regime's proportionate approach is designed to make providers more robust and reliable, say lawyers at Shearman.
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CMA Road Map Helps Cos. Prepare For UK Digital Markets Bill
Although only provisional, the recent publication of the Competition and Markets Authority's road map for the implementation of the U.K. Digital Markets Bill demonstrates that the regulator is keen to reassure Parliament that it takes accountability seriously, and that there will be sufficient safeguards in place regarding its decision making, say lawyers at Morgan Lewis.