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Corporate Crime & Compliance UK
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July 31, 2024
Ex-Fieldfisher Lawyer Says Sex Assault Claim Was Conspiracy
A former senior associate at Fieldfisher LLP sacked over sexual harassment allegations told a tribunal Wednesday that a "group of close friends" had conspired to falsely accuse him of sexually assaulting a co-worker in a toilet during a work event.
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July 31, 2024
SFO Eyes Potential £237M Legal Bill For ENRC Misconduct
The Serious Fraud Office has registered a potential £237.7 million ($305 million) payment to ENRC for damages over findings that its officers encouraged a former partner at Dechert LLP to divulge confidential information about alleged corruption at the Kazakh miner.
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July 31, 2024
Gov't Plans Backstop Legislation To Tackle Audit Backlog
The new Labour government said Wednesday it is preparing legislation to introduce a statutory backstop as the U.K. faces a growing backlog of audits of local authorities.
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July 31, 2024
FCA Maintains Restrictions On London Stone Securities
The Financial Conduct Authority said Wednesday that it will continue to restrict London Stone Securities, preventing the wealth manager from conducting any regulated activities because of serious concerns that it is not delivering good results for clients.
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July 30, 2024
Consumers Can Appeal Some Blocked UK Mastercard Claims
The United Kingdom's specialty antitrust court gave the go-ahead Tuesday for a partial appeal of its June decision scrubbing as time-barred a swath of claims from a £10 billion ($12.7 billion) class action against Mastercard, while concluding some grounds of appeal have no "real prospect of success."
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July 30, 2024
UK Healthcare Ex-Directors Banned For £30M In Unpaid Taxes
Two former directors of a defunct U.K. healthcare company are banned from holding executive positions at any business after failing to pay more than £30 million ($38.5 million) in taxes, the government's insolvency agency said Tuesday.
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July 30, 2024
Misleading Invoices Rose 63% In Last Year, IPO Warns
The Intellectual Property Office issued a fresh warning Tuesday for customers to beware of unsolicited payment requests typically in the form of invoices for trademark, design or patent services.
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July 30, 2024
Fieldfisher Defends Lawyer's Sacking Over Sexual Misconduct
A Fieldfisher LLP partner who sacked a senior associate over sexual harassment allegations told a tribunal Tuesday she stood by her decision as she gave evidence against the lawyer who claimed that he had been unfairly dismissed.
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July 30, 2024
NCA Ducks Litigation Risk In 1st Seizure Of Sanctioned Assets
The decision by the National Crime Agency to secure the forfeiture of the assets of a sanctioned Russian oligarch is a pragmatic victory that avoids the risk of setting a damaging legal precedent, lawyers say.
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July 30, 2024
Bahraini Dissidents Say Bugging Case Belongs In England
Two Bahraini dissidents urged a London appeals court Tuesday to uphold a ruling that the Gulf state cannot block them from suing it for allegedly infecting their computers with spyware because the hacking took place in the U.K.
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July 30, 2024
Forsters Pro Ducks Liability In Fight Over Billionaire's Estate
A Forsters LLP private wealth solicitor cannot be held personally liable while he represents the estate of a Russian oligarch in a dispute over his $3.7 billion fortune unless the lawyer's actions are dishonest or fraudulent, a London court has ruled.
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July 30, 2024
Bank Of England Plans New Scrutiny Of Foreign Banks In UK
The Bank of England's regulatory arm proposed Tuesday new requirements for overseas banks with U.K. operations, to help detect some risks to financial stability that had arisen in the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank UK, sold to HSBC.
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July 30, 2024
ENRC Founder's Daughter Poised To Quash SFO Conviction
The Serious Fraud Office said Tuesday that it will not contest an appeal by the daughter of one of the founders of Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. against her conviction for failing to hand over documents in the agency's corruption investigation into the Kazakh mining company.
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July 30, 2024
FCA Could Extend Deadline On Motor Finance Complaints
Britain's financial watchdog is considering whether to extend the deadline for motor finance companies to deal with complaints from customers about commission arrangements while the regulator investigates whether past deals were compliant with a 2021 ban.
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July 30, 2024
Katie Price Faces Arrest For Not Attending Bankruptcy Hearing
A London judge issued a warrant on Tuesday for the arrest of Katie Price after the former model failed again to attend a court hearing in connection with her bankruptcies.
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July 29, 2024
BofA, Citi Among Banks In $80M Deal To End Bond-Rig Suit
Units of Bank of America, Citigroup and other banking giants have agreed to pay $80 million to settle investor claims accusing them of conspiring to fix European government bond prices.
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July 29, 2024
Crypto Investors Get Provisional OK For £9B Binance Claim
Binance Holdings Ltd. must face a £9 billion ($11.5 billion) proposed class action brought by investors after a tribunal dismissed the cryptocurrency exchange's bid to strike out the claim, finding the evidence "just about" shows the case has a realistic chance of success.
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July 29, 2024
News Group Agrees To Seek 'Fake Security Threat' Evidence
The U.K. arm of Rupert Murdoch's news empire agreed in a London court Monday to search for more information related to an alleged "fake security threat" used to destroy evidence of unlawful information gathering techniques by journalists in a disclosure battle with two senior politicians.
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July 29, 2024
Top Corporate Crime Cases To Watch For The Rest Of 2024
The Serious Fraud Office's intention to charge individuals with bribery over Glencore's dealings in Nigeria, a major bitcoin money laundering trial and the ongoing legal battles between ENRC and the SFO are some of the major white-collar crime cases on the horizon.
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July 29, 2024
Bahrain Revives Immunity Bid In Dissident Spyware Case
Bahrain told an appeals court Monday that state immunity prevents two dissidents from suing the Gulf state in England to claim it infected their computers with malware to spy on them, because not all the alleged acts took place in the U.K.
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July 29, 2024
Saudi Investor Revives $5M Legal Costs Claim Against RLS
A London court has revived a negligence claim brought by a Saudi Arabian property investor against a law firm for the costs of investigating and litigating an alleged £35 million ($45 million) fraud, finding that an earlier settlement does not block him bringing the allegations.
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July 29, 2024
Zurich Invests $60M In Cyber Insurance Provider For SMEs
Swiss insurance giant Zurich has invested $60 million in Cowbell, a provider of cyberinsurance for small businesses, the digital risk company said, amid growing industry concerns over cyberthreats.
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July 29, 2024
FCA Weighs Taking Protection From Some Insurance Clients
The Financial Conduct Authority proposed on Monday a change to the criteria of classifying a small business as a commercial insurance client by removing consumer protection rules from some firms when they buy insurance products.
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July 29, 2024
NCA Seizes Assets As Russian Oligarch Ends Sanctions Fight
The National Crime Agency seized more than £768,000 ($986,000) belonging to Russian oligarch Petr Aven on Monday after reaching a settlement in its first attempt to recover frozen assets linked to suspected sanctions evasion since sweeping restrictions came into force.
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July 29, 2024
Mozambique Claims Victory In UK Tuna Bond Scandal Case
Mozambique largely won its mammoth corruption claim against a shipbuilding company on Monday over a bribery scheme used to pay kickbacks to public officials to tie it into a financing package for a tuna fishing fleet that wrecked the southern African country's economy.
Expert Analysis
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Pharma Remains A Key Focus Of EU Antitrust Enforcement
The recently published European Commission report on pharmaceutical sector competition law illustrates that effective enforcement of EU rules remains a matter of high priority for EU and national authorities, say lawyers at Dechert.
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Dissecting Recent Developments Against The Misuse Of NDAs
The U.K. government's recent plans to nullify nondisclosure agreements that prevent victims from reporting crimes should remind lawyers to proactively consider the necessity of such agreements, especially in light of the Solicitors Regulation Authority's warning notice on drafting improper NDAs, say Clare Davis and Macaela Joyes at RPC.
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What UK Energy Charter Treaty Exit Would Mean For Investors
While the U.K.'s recent announcement that it intends to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty is a bold political signal, investor protections will remain in place for a significant period of time, ensuring that an element of certainty and business continuity will remain, say Karel Daele and Jessica Thomas at Taylor Wessing.
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Assessing The FCA Data Study's Response To User Concerns
The Financial Conduct Authority’s recently published report on the supply of wholesale financial data differs from others in its exceptional breadth and analysis of an enormous volume of information, but in its reluctance to address market power or pricing directly, the regulator’s approach is still cautious, say Emma Radcliffe and Greg Dowell at Macfarlanes.
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Uber Payout Offers Employer Lessons On Mitigating Bias
Uber Eats' recent payout to a driver over allegations that the company's facial recognition software was discriminatory sheds light on bias in AI, and offers guidance for employers on how to avoid harming employees through the use of such technology, says Rachel Rigg at Fieldfisher.
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Apple Ruling Offers Morsel Of Certainty On Litigation Funding
An English court's recent decision in Gutmann v. Apple, finding that a litigation funder could be paid via a damages award, offers a piece of guidance on the permissibility of such agreement terms amid the ongoing uncertainty around funded group litigation in the U.K., says Mohsin Patel at Factor Risk Management.
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Cum-Ex Prosecutions Storm Shows No Sign Of Abating
The ongoing trial of Sanjay Shah in Denmark is a clear indicator that efforts remain focused on holding to account the alleged architects and beneficiaries of cum-ex trading, and with these prosecutions making their way across Europe, it is a more turbulent time now than ever, says Niall Hearty at Rahman Ravelli.
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Traversing The Web Of Nonjudicial Grievance Mechanisms
Attorneys at Covington provide an overview of how companies can best align their environmental and human rights compliance with "hard-law" requirements like the EU's recently approved Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive while also navigating the complex global network of existing nonjudicial grievance mechanisms.
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Opinion
FCA Greenwashing Rules Need To Be Stronger To Be Effective
The Financial Conduct Authority's forthcoming anti-greenwashing measures, aimed at ensuring the veracity of regulated entities’ statements about sustainability credentials, need external scrutiny and an effective definition of "corporate social responsibility" to give them bite, says Jingchen Zhao at Nottingham Trent University.
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Companies House False Filings Raise Issues Of Integrity
A recent spate of unauthorized company filings with Companies House raises specific concerns for secured lenders, but also highlights the potential for false filings to be used to facilitate fraudulent schemes, says Daniel Sullivan at Charles Russell.
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Gov't Probe Highlights Computer-Based Evidence Issues
A recently launched U.K. Home Office probe, following the alleged use of faulty data in criminal cases, illuminates the need for scrutiny on the presumed reliability of evidence from computer-based systems, says Jessica Sobey at Stokoe Partnership.
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UK Courts Continue To Struggle With Crypto-Asset Cases
Although the common law has proved capable of applying established principles to crypto-assets, recent cases highlight persistent challenges in identifying defendants, locating assets and determining jurisdiction, suggesting that any meaningful development will likely come from legislative or regulatory change, say Emily Saunderson and Sam Mitchell at Quadrant Chambers.
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Why Computer Evidence Is Not Always Reliable In Court
Recent challenges to the admissibility of encrypted communication from the messaging tool EncroChat highlight the flawed presumption in the U.K. common law framework that computer evidence is always accurate, and why a nuanced assessment of such evidence is needed, say Sam De Silva and Josie Welland at CMS Legal.
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Comparing The UK And EU Approaches To AI Regulation
While there are significant points of convergence between the recently published U.K. approach to artificial intelligence regulation and the EU AI Act, there is also notable divergence between them, and it appears that the U.K. will remain a less regulatory environment for AI in the foreseeable future, say lawyers at Steptoe.
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Lessons On Using 3rd-Party Disclosure Orders In Fraud Cases
The expansion of the gateway for service out of jurisdiction regarding third-party information orders has proven to be an effective tool against fraud since it was introduced in 2022, and recent case law offers practical tips on what applicants should be aware of when submitting such orders, says Rosie Wild at Cooke Young.