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Financial Services UK
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July 19, 2024
Lawyers Test New Routes For Redress For APP Fraud Victims
A year after the decision by Britain's Supreme Court that curbed the liability owed by lenders to customers tricked into transferring money to fraudsters, victims are now looking to use the courts to test novel routes for redress.
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July 19, 2024
Gov't Floats Draft Proposal For OBR 'Fiscal Lock' Powers
HM Treasury proposals for a new "fiscal lock" in a draft Budget Responsibility Bill will allow the Office for Budget Responsibility to scrutinize any tax-and-spend decisions with a cost factor of 1% of gross domestic product or more.
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July 19, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen a libel clash between comedian Paul Currie and the Soho Theatre Company over allegations of anti-semitism, technology giant Huawei face a patents claim by Mediatek, Westfield Europe pursue action against Clearpay Finance for contract breaches and tour operating company Carnival hit chartered airline Maleth Aero for significant flight delays. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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July 19, 2024
UK Clears Nationwide's £2.9B Purchase Of Virgin Money
The competition regulator of the U.K. said Friday that it has cleared Nationwide Building Society's acquisition of Virgin Money UK PLC for £2.9 billion ($3.7 billion), which the companies say would create a combined group with assets of approximately £366 billion.
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July 19, 2024
Businessman Found Guilty Of Fraud For COVID Loan Abuse
A British businessman accused of dishonestly obtaining a COVID-19 small business loan was convicted of fraud on Friday after prosecutors accused him of scamming the system to repay an associate embroiled in a fight with the Serious Fraud Office.
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July 19, 2024
Casino Group Faces French Price-Fixing Probe
Casino Group, the French retail giant that has recently undergone a restructuring, said it is being investigated by France's financial crime agency for possible price manipulation and corruption.
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July 18, 2024
Ukraine Businessman Looks To Arbitrate $1B Gramercy Suit
A Ukrainian businessman is urging a Wyoming federal court to force Gramercy Funds Management to arbitrate in London its racketeering lawsuit accusing him of fraudulently transferring more than a billion dollars from his agricultural business, a debtor of the Connecticut-based hedge fund.
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July 18, 2024
Law Firm Did Not Think SRA Alerts Applied To Former Client
Matthew & Matthew Solicitors has told liquidators for a now-defunct group of companies that it did not believe that warnings about investment schemes by the English solicitors' regulator applied to its client, arguing that the businessman's care home scheme appeared legitimate.
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July 18, 2024
GE Can't Claim Credit For £189M In Double Tax, Court Says
A U.K.-registered subsidiary of General Electric does not qualify for at least £189 million ($245 million) in double tax relief under a U.S.-U.K. treaty because it lacks a U.S. presence akin to a domicile, a London appellate court ruled.
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July 18, 2024
PE Firm's £432M Deal Awaiting NSIA Clearance Pushed Back
Wealth management firm Mattioli Woods said Thursday that its approximately £432 million ($546 million) acquisition by London private equity firm Pollen Street Capital that is awaiting national security clearance is now likely to close a month later than expected.
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July 18, 2024
Pension Experts Urge 'Gateway Tests' For Public Consolidator
More than half of pension professionals believe that any public sector consolidator must have tough "gateway tests" similar to those employed by commercial superfunds, if the project gets off the ground.
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July 18, 2024
Treat Politically Exposed People Better, FCA Tells Firms
The Financial Conduct Authority told all financial services companies on Thursday to do more to ensure that high-profile individuals and their families are not treated unfairly after it found widespread deficiencies in a review of the sector.
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July 18, 2024
Faegre Drinker Hires Ex-Northern Trust Legal Chief
Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP has recruited a senior lawyer at Northern Trust Asset Management to join its office in London as it continues to build its investment management practice in the English capital.
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July 17, 2024
Retired Couple Seek To Override Ex-Solicitor's Deceit Win
A financial advisor and his wife battled to reverse a ruling finding them liable to a former solicitor for his investment in a now-defunct forex trading scheme, arguing they had wrongly been found to be partners.
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July 17, 2024
Qatari Fund Sues Sheikh Over Stalled 70-Carat Diamond Deal
A Qatari investment fund has accused a Sheikh of breaching a promise to sell it a 70-carat diamond, telling a London court that he cited the COVID-19 pandemic as a force majeure event allowing his family to avoid handing over the jewel.
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July 17, 2024
Labour Revives Arbitration Bill To Reform £2.5B Industry
The U.K. will introduce a new Arbitration Bill reviving legislation shelved in the runup to the election as part of plans to support the country's position as an international center for dispute resolution, the government said in the King's Speech on Wednesday.
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July 17, 2024
UK Gov't Moves Ahead With Accounting Reform Bill
The new Labour Government said on Wednesday that it will push ahead with draft legislation to toughen up regulation of auditors to help to reduce the risk of corporate failures.
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July 17, 2024
EU Financial Watchdogs Set Up Cyber-Risk Info Exchange
European Union financial watchdogs said Wednesday that they will establish a framework for authorities in the bloc and international bodies to share information on cyberthreats and incidents that pose a risk to financial stability.
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July 17, 2024
Labour Gov't To Make Fiscal Rules Law, Empower OBR
The new Labour government will legislate to write into law the Treasury's long-held fiscal rules and grant new powers to the Office for Budget Responsibility to scrutinize policy, according to plans confirmed in the King's Speech on Wednesday.
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July 17, 2024
Gov't Plans Pensions Bill To Consolidate Retirement Savings
The new Labour government said on Wednesday that it will introduce a new Pensions Schemes Bill that aims to consolidate the cluttered retirement savings sector.
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July 16, 2024
Tycoon's Pilot Says Feds' Stock Tip Claims Don't Add Up
A private pilot who used to work for convicted insider trader and U.K. billionaire Joe Lewis is arguing federal prosecutors can't use allegations that his own trades were suspicious to ramp up a sentence for a separate tax evasion charge.
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July 16, 2024
Ex-Goldman Banker Denies Bribe Charges After Extradition
A former Goldman Sachs banker pled not guilty Tuesday before a Brooklyn federal magistrate judge to charges that he bribed Ghanaian officials, after losing an extradition battle in British courts.
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July 16, 2024
Ex-Mozambique Official Accused Of $2B Fraud As Trial Opens
Federal prosecutors told a Manhattan jury Tuesday that Mozambique's former finance minister took $7 million in bribes in a "corrupt" plot to enrich himself and defraud investors after $2 billion in state-backed development projects flopped.
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July 16, 2024
Self-Styled Bitcoin Founder Could Face Criminal Prosecution
A London judge referred Craig Wright to prosecutors on Tuesday for potential perjury charges after concluding that the Australian computer scientist had repeatedly lied about inventing bitcoin for financial gain.
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July 16, 2024
Labour Government Urged To Introduce Green Tax Credits
The new Labour government should introduce tax credits for businesses investing in green energy technology, according to a tax expert from the Confederation of British Industry.
Expert Analysis
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What The Auto-Enrollment Law Means For UK Workforce
In a welcome step to enhance retirement savings, the U.K. government is set to extend the automatic enrollment regime by lowering the eligibility age and reducing the lower qualifying earnings limit, but addressing workers' immediate financial needs remains a challenge, says Beth Brown at Arc Pensions.
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UAE Bank Case Offers Lessons On Enforcing Foreign Rulings
The High Court recently clarified in Invest Bank v. El-Husseini that foreign judgment debts may be enforceable in England, despite being unenforceable in their jurisdiction of origin, which should remind practitioners that foreign judgments will be recognized in England if they are final and conclusive in their court of origin, say lawyers at Macfarlanes.
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Revised OECD Guidelines Key In Shaping Business Standards
The OECD’s recent revised guidelines on responsible business conduct, supported by a domestic government agencies’ grievance referral mechanism, have already influenced EU due diligence standards, and enterprises engaging in the unique procedure will benefit from case-specific nuances, parallel proceedings and the availability of confidentiality protections, say lawyers at Debevoise.
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Libor Fallback To Prime May Increase Corporate Loan Costs
Despite preparations and legislative actions related to the transition away from Libor earlier this year, there remains a contingent of corporate borrowers that have fallen through the cracks and could face increased costs if their loans default to prime rates, say Nathan Moore and Dana Bradley at WilmerHale.
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Report Can Aid With Sustainable Finance Disclosure Filings
The European Supervisory Authorities recently issued a report on companies' consideration of the principal adverse impacts of their investment decisions on sustainability factors, providing examples of good and bad disclosure practices under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, which firms should note in their future reporting, say lawyers at Debevoise.
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Protecting The Arbitral Process In Russia-Related Disputes
Four recent High Court and Court of Appeal rulings concerning anti-suit injunction claims illustrate that companies exposed to litigation risk in Russia may need to carefully consider how to best protect their interests and the arbitral process with regard to a Russian counterparty, say lawyers at Linklaters.
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Audit Reform Takeaways After Record KPMG Fine
The Financial Reporting Council’s recent £21 million fine against KPMG for its Carillion audit work failures is representative of the agency’s increasing proactivity in policing audit quality, and brings to light the U.K. government’s slow-moving but ongoing efforts to majorly reform audit sector regulations, says Paul Brehony at Signature Litigation.
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RSA Insurance Ruling Clarifies Definition Of 'Insured Loss'
A London appeals court's recent ruling in Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance v. Tughans, that the insurer must provide coverage for a liability that included the law firm's fees, shows that a claim for the recovery of fees paid to a firm can constitute an insured loss, say James Roberts and Sophia Hanif at Clyde & Co.
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Putin Ruling May Have Unintended Sanctions Consequences
By widening the scope of control, the Court of Appeal's recent judgment in Mints v. PJSC opens the possibility that everything in Russia could be deemed to be controlled by President Vladimir Putin, which would significantly expand the U.K.'s sanctions regime in unintended ways, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.
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Navigating The New Framework On Nature-Related Reporting
The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures’ recently published disclosure framework represents a significant step toward the coalescence of nature-related disclosure standards for corporates and financial institutions, and has the potential to influence investor expectations and future regulation, say lawyers at Kirkland.
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FCA Engagement Signals New Direction In ESG Disclosures
The Financial Conduct Authority recently published a response to a consultation on sustainability-related standards, highlighting the regulator's priorities for the U.K.'s green transition, including an early indication that it may turn its attention to nature-based disclosures, say Ferdisha Snagg and Andreas Wildner at Cleary.
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New Policies Will Aid UK Cos. Accessing US Capital Markets
The U.K. government's recent adoption of regulations permitting the use of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, and announcement of measures to remove a 1.5% tax on certain share issues and transfers, should help ensure that England remains an attractive holding company jurisdiction for companies seeking a listing on U.S. stock exchanges, say lawyers at Davis Polk.
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Key Takeaways From ICO Report On Workforce Monitoring
The Information Commissioner's Office recently published guidance on workplace monitoring, highlighting that employers must strike a balance between their business needs and workers' privacy rights to avoid falling afoul of U.K. data protection law requirements, say lawyers at MoFo.
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Creating A Safe Workplace Goes Beyond DEI Compliance
The Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority recently proposed a new diversity and inclusion regulatory framework to combat sexual harassment in the workplace, and companies should take this opportunity to holistically transform their culture to ensure zero tolerance for misconduct, says Vivek Dodd at Skillcast.
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Asset Managers Should Prepare For Nature-Related Reporting
Although it is doubtful that the U.K. nature-related task force’s recent recommendations for mandatory nature reporting will come into effect imminently, it is likely that investors will begin to use them to assess risks and will request asset managers to shift capital flows to more sustainable outcomes, say lawyers at Macfarlanes.