Corporate Crime & Compliance UK

Downing Street and Whitehall street signs, London

UK Top Court's Leeway On Sanctions Could Embolden Gov't

The respect shown by the U.K. Supreme Court to the British government on foreign affairs could encourage ministers to use sanctions in unforeseen ways, allowing politicians to achieve policy goals that are limited by legal challenges, lawyers say.

Southend Court House in Southend-on-Sea, Essex

Traders' Win Casts Doubt On Plans For No-Jury Fraud Trials

Repeated failure by the courts to ensure that two former traders imprisoned for rigging benchmark interest rates were given a fair trial has fueled criticism of radical reforms to roll back jury trials in complex fraud cases to ease pressure on the judicial system.

Hayes' Victory Leaves SFO Rate Rigging Convictions In Doubt

The decision by the U.K. Supreme Court to quash the convictions of two former traders accused of manipulating interest rates has opened the door for other bankers to challenge the fairness of their trials, lawyers say.

Criminal Background Check Application Form

Senior Managers Regime Revamp Risks Letting In Bad Apples

The City watchdog's planned overhaul of its senior managers regime risks allowing people with records of misconduct to slip into financial firms because of the relaxation of rules on references and criminal checks, according to lawyers.

July 30, 2025
Greek Shipping Magnate's Heirs Battle Over €72M Loan Deal

A company linked to the son-in-law of a deceased Greek shipping magnate has denied that a €72 million ($83 million) loan agreement with the magnate's former business was a sham, amid a family dispute over the magnate's estate.
July 30, 2025
Big Law Ordered To Explain Leak Of PrivatBank's UK Win

Law firms including Hogan Lovells LLP and Fieldfisher LLP will be required to provide witness statements after the High Court judge overseeing the long-running PrivatBank fraud case revealed on Wednesday that his judgment had apparently been leaked.
July 30, 2025
Gupta Hit With $6.7M Fraud Claim Over False Deposit Docs

A U.K. commodities broker won its bid on Wednesday to bring a fraud claim worth almost $7 million against Prateek Gupta, with the High Court dismissing the metal mogul's argument that the claim shouldn't be heard in England.
July 30, 2025
Govt's National Wealth Fund Ignored Worker's Pay Concerns

The U.K. government's National Wealth Fund subjected an employee to sexual discrimination after it failed to address his request for a pay review, an Employment Tribunal has ruled.
July 30, 2025
Axed Charity Staffer Wins Early Battle In Whistleblowing Claim

A tribunal has ordered a London charity to reinstate a former member of staff or keep paying her after she showed there is a "pretty good chance" that her whistleblowing over an irregular payment led to her dismissal.
July 30, 2025
PrivatBank Wins $1.9B Fraud Case Against Ex-Owners

The former owners of PrivatBank are liable to pay the Ukrainian lender for a fraud that cost the bank billions, a London judge ruled on Wednesday almost two years after the trial over sham loans linked to fictitious commodity trades concluded.
July 30, 2025
FCA Rule Change May Put Firms At Risk Of Fraud Prosecution

The Financial Conduct Authority's proposed partial relaxation of the approval process under its senior managers regime as the U.K. pushes for deregulation could increase exposure among companies to fraud prosecution under another regulatory snag — the offense of failure to prevent fraud, which goes live in September.
July 29, 2025
JV Partner Found To Have Inflated Costs In London Project

A Dubai-based businessman has largely succeeded in a complex dispute over a joint venture after a London judge ruled that other parties to the deal had inflated costs in invoices to pocket part of the payments as profit.
July 29, 2025
Forex Biz Can't Avoid Liability For Deceit In $10M Deal

A foreign exchange business lost its fight on Tuesday to challenge a ruling that it could not defend claims that its employee deceived a Nigerian broker in a $10 million transaction, despite winning challenges over lesser deals worth $6 million.
July 29, 2025
Fake Threats Claim To Be Heard At £50M Waste Dumping Trial

Allegations by a former director of a quarry that the site's owner fabricated evidence to support an asset-freezing order will be heard during a trial of a £50 million ($67 million) claim that ex-bosses allowed illegal waste dumping, the Court of Appeal ruled Tuesday.
July 29, 2025
Ex-JPMorgan Trader Drops Bid For Remedy Over Unfair Firing

A former JPMorgan Chase metals trader has told an employment tribunal that he won't be pursuing his case for compensation any further despite winning his unfair dismissal claim against the bank over a faulty "spoofing" investigation.
July 29, 2025
'Hollywood Con Queen' Fails To Quash US Extradition

An Indonesian man lost his appeal Tuesday to stave off extradition from the U.K. to the U.S. to face accusations he impersonated female Hollywood executives to con more than 300 film industry workers into traveling to Indonesia for false movie projects.
July 29, 2025
EU Watchdog Finds Failings In AML Defenses At Crypto-Firms

The banking watchdog of the European Union has warned that many crypto-asset companies lack effective anti-money laundering systems, reporting that abuse of services in the sector for financial crime is a major concern.
July 29, 2025
FCA Sues Property Biz Over £23M Investment Scheme

The City watchdog said Tuesday that it has taken Concept Capital Group to a London court over an alleged unauthorized £23 million ($30 million) investment scheme related to static homes.
July 29, 2025
Shvidler Loses Landmark UK Sanctions Challenge

Britain's highest court upheld sanctions against billionaire oil tycoon Eugene Shvidler in a landmark ruling on Tuesday that backs the U.K. government's authority to impose the restrictions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
July 28, 2025
Fraud Claims 'Smaller Slice' As Crypto Litigation Booms

As litigation involving cryptocurrency significantly increases, fraud cases represent a lesser share of the total number of crypto disputes, according to a report published Monday by CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP.
July 28, 2025
Ex-Telecom Manager Can't Shield ID In Whistleblowing Claim

A manager who was made redundant by the U.K. branch of a Chinese state-owned telecommunications operator can't remain anonymous as he brings whistleblowing claims, an employment tribunal has ruled.
July 28, 2025
EU Says Temu Failing To Prevent Sale Of Illegal Products

Temu has failed to properly assess the risks of illegal products being sold on its marketplace, including non-compliant baby toys and small electronics, according to preliminary findings from the European Commission published Monday.
July 28, 2025
Citigroup Defends $16M VTB Russian Securities Sale Losses

Citigroup has denied claims that it caused a VTB Bank subsidiary to lose almost $16 million by taking an irrational approach to liquidating securities after the Russian lender defaulted on a demand for collateral amid market volatility following Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
July 28, 2025
UK Man Denies Making Crypto Transfers To Russian Militias

A British-Russian national who allegedly funded pro-Russian militia groups in occupied eastern Ukraine through bitcoin payments on Monday denied breaching the U.K. sanctions regime.
July 28, 2025
Investment Boss Told To Pay Back £170K From £37M Fraud

A director of an ethical investment scheme imprisoned for defrauding investors out of £37 million ($50 million) was ordered by a court on Monday to pay back £170,000 or have two years added to his sentence.
July 28, 2025
Allianz Life Hack Attack Exposes Most Clients' Info

Insurance giant Allianz has said that hackers have stolen personal data from most of its 1.4 million customers in America after cybercriminals hacked into a third-party system used by its U.S. subsidiary.
July 28, 2025
European Reinsurer Fined £1.79M Over Post-Brexit Failings

The Bank of England's regulatory arm said on Monday that it has fined the London branch of a Luxembourg-based reinsurer £1.79 million ($2.4 million) for failing to have adequate controls in place during Britain's exit from the European Union.
July 27, 2025
Suspected Trading Scam 'Mastermind' Can't Block Extradition

An Israeli accused of being the "mastermind" behind call centers that allegedly scammed investors out of €14 million ($16 million) by posing as trading platform employees lost a bid on Friday to block his extradition to Germany from the U.K.
July 25, 2025
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen the owner of a £6 million ($8 million) mansion once rented by Adele sue real estate consultants Strutt & Parker, Romanian-Australian mining investor Vasile Frank Timis bring a claim against reputation and privacy firm Schillings, and a Chinese businessman bring a legal action against his former lawyer over an alleged £12.5 million mortgage fraud.

Editor's Picks

6 Bombshell Moments From Staley's Bid To Clear His Name

Jes Staley has suffered a bruising week as he testified about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, culminating in an admission by the former banker that he had sex with a member of the disgraced financier's staff.
5 Questions For Spencer West Partner Karl Foster

The Financial Conduct Authority's approach to enforcement and consumer protection has come up against government economic growth priorities and resistance from the sector to its proposals to "name and shame" companies early on during regulatory probes.
UK Russia Sanctions Face Landmark Test At Supreme Court

The U.K.'s sanctions regime faces a major test on Wednesday as billionaire Eugene Shvidler seeks to have his financial restrictions cast off — the first case to challenge Russian sanctions that has reached the country's highest court.

Expert Analysis

23andMe Fine Signals ICO's New GDPR Enforcement Focus

Many of the cybersecurity failures identified by the Information Commissioner’s Office in its investigation of 23andMe, recently resulting in a £2.3 million fine, were basic lapses, but the ICO's focus on several new U.K. General Data Protection Regulation considerations will likely carry into the future, say lawyers at Womble Bond.
What New UK Stub Equity Rules Will Mean For PE Bidders

The U.K. Takeover Panel’s recent guide to making stub equity offers, for the first time formally harmonizing the approach to be taken, should be helpful for both private equity bidders and practitioners, and not unduly restrictive, say lawyers at Davis Polk.
UK FDI Enforcement Continues, But Changes Are On The Way

With the U.K. government’s recent foreign direct investment investigation into Maple Armor’s increased shareholding in Fireblitz demonstrating the National Security and Investment Act’s wide scope, an announcement this month that certain transactions will no longer require mandatory notification represents a welcome simplification, says Matthew Hall at McGuireWoods.
What Cos. Must Note From EU's Delivery Hero-Glovo Ruling

The European Commission’s recent landmark decision in Delivery Hero-Glovo, sanctioning companies for the first time over a stand-alone no-poach cartel agreement, underscores the potential antitrust risks of horizontal cross-ownership between competitors, say lawyers at McDermott.
What To Expect As FCA Preps To Launch AI Testing Service

The Financial Conduct Authority’s forthcoming artificial intelligence live testing service will provide participants with access to appropriate regulatory expertise, but to gauge the tool’s potential utility, it is important to understand how it fits in with what the regulator is already doing, says Omar Salem at Fox Williams.
New Interpol Silver Notice Could Be Tool For Justice Or Abuse

Interpol has issued dozens of Silver Notices to trace and recover assets linked to criminal activity since January, and though the tool may disrupt organized crime and terrorist financing, attorneys must protect against the potential for corrupt misuse, say attorneys at Clark Hill and Arktouros.
Weighing PE Transaction Risks As EU AI Act Rolls Out

As the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act becomes effective in stages, legal practitioners involved in private equity deals should consider the transactional risks resulting from this measure, including penalties, extraterritorial reach and target-firm applicability, say lawyers at Covington.
Preparing For Literacy Compliance Under EU AI Act

The European Commission's recent Q&A on artificial intelligence literacy is designed to assist with European Union AI Act compliance, but since the law does not require a one-size-fits-all approach, organizations need to consider specific use cases and focus on implementing staff training, says Edward Machin at Ropes & Gray.
EU Banking Watchdog Regulations Herald New AML Era

The European Banking Authority’s forthcoming anti-money laundering package will set a framework for compliance across the European Union by redefining the rules of engagement between financial institutions and supervisors, setting a new standard for transparency and accountability, say lawyers at A&O Shearman.
UK-EU Competition Agreement Signals Rebuilding Of Ties

The European Commission’s recent adoption of proposals to sign the European Union-U.K. competition agreement is a welcome first step toward better policy and enforcement convergence, providing a clearer legal framework for businesses to manage regulatory risk, says Charles Whiddington at Steptoe.
What To Expect As UK, US Gov'ts Develop Stablecoin Policies

While the U.K. and U.S. governments’ policies both suggest that fiat-backed stablecoins can improve efficiency and safety in payments systems, a perception that crypto-assets remain high risk means consumers are unlikely to use them in significant volume anytime soon, say lawyers at Cadwalader.
Decoding Arbitral Disputes: UK Injunctions Across Borders

A recent High Court of Justice decision allowing JPMorgan Chase Bank to block VTB Bank from bringing suit in a Russian court provides a seminal reflection on the power of English courts to issue antisuit injunctions when global banking disputes increasingly straddle multiple jurisdictions, says Josep Galvez of 4-5 Gray's Inn.
7 Reforms To Note Under New UK Data Protection Law

Although the recently enacted Data Use Act’s changes to U.K. law are subtle, its reforms go beyond data protection, including changes that redefine the scope of scientific research and an update that clarifies what constitutes automated decision-making, says James Castro-Edwards at Arnold & Porter.
How Regulators Want Online Platforms To Fight Finance Fraud

Recent statements from the International Organization of Securities Commissions and the European Securities and Markets Authority make clear that online platform providers are expected to adopt proactive measures to prevent the promotion of unauthorized financial services and related misconduct, say lawyers at Taylor Wessing.
FCA Notes Industry Criticism But Keeps Transparency Focus

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recently updated enforcement guide finally gives up the "naming and shaming" public interest test, demonstrating that the regulator has recognized the industry's serious concerns while maintaining less contentious aspects of its proposals to improve transparency in investigations, say lawyers at Irwin Mitchell.