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Financial Services UK
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August 16, 2024
Local Council Accuses Tycoon Of Misappropriating £150M
A local English council pushed into effective bankruptcy after a spate of failed investments has sued a businessman for upward of £150 million ($194 million) it claims he siphoned off to buy yachts, private jets and a country estate.
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August 16, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen Barry Manilow sued by music rights company Hipgnosis, a struck-off immigration lawyer take on the Solicitor's Disciplinary Tribunal and the former CEO of a collapsed bridging loan firm start proceedings against the FCA. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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August 16, 2024
Pension Scheme Endgames Pushed Back Amid Falling Yields
The average timeline for U.K. pension schemes to reach a point where they can buy out their liabilities with an insurance company was extended last month, due to falling bond yields, experts said.
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August 16, 2024
Specialist Lender OSB Announces New £50M Share Buyback
OSB Group PLC said it will roll out a share repurchase program worth up to £50 million ($65 million) as the buy-to-let lender announced an increased pretax profit but warned of more competition in the "subdued" mortgage market.
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August 16, 2024
PwC Fined £15M For Failing To Flag LC&F Fraud Suspicion
The Financial Conduct Authority said Friday it has fined PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP £15 million ($19.3 million) for failing to report to the regulator its belief that London Capital & Finance PLC might be involved in fraud.
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August 16, 2024
Revolut Valued At $45B After Secondary Equity Issue
U.K. fintech Revolut said Friday it has secured a $45 billion valuation in a share sale by its employees to new and existing investors, cementing its status as Europe's most valuable private technology company.
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August 16, 2024
FCA Apologizes For Treatment of 'Voluntary Requirement'
Britain's financial watchdog has apologized for an unnecessary extension of two years of publishing on its register a "voluntary requirement" for a company indicating failure to meet standards after the Complaints Commissioner upheld a claim.
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August 15, 2024
Union Group Calls For UK To Address Gender Pension Gap
The Trades Union Congress has said retired women receive £7,000 ($9,000) a year less from their pensions than retired men, a gender gap, it warns, that is closing far too slowly.
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August 15, 2024
Gov't Urged To Unlock £16B LGPS Pensions For Investment
The U.K. government could immediately unlock around £16 billion ($20.5 billion) of investment in U.K. infrastructure just by lifting thresholds on the asset class constraining the Local Government Pension Scheme, a report found.
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August 15, 2024
FCA Censures Audit Firm On Client Assets Report Breaches
The Financial Conduct Authority said Thursday it has censured auditor Macintyre Hudson LLP for failing to report breaches of the FCA's rules on treatment of client assets.
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August 15, 2024
London's Listing Regime Revamp Overshadows Junior Market
The revamp by the City watchdog of the London Stock Exchange's rule book, which burnishes its appeal for corporate listings in competition with U.S. and European markets, has raised doubts on the future role of the junior market for growth companies and tech startups, lawyers say.
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August 14, 2024
Ukrainian Bank In $1.1B Russia Case Points To Nigeria Ruling
A Ukrainian bank looking to enforce a $1.1 billion arbitral award against Russia has asked a Washington, D.C., federal judge to consider a decision issued last week by the D.C. Circuit rejecting Nigeria's sovereign immunity defense in another litigation over an arbitral award.
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August 14, 2024
PwC Owes $11M For Tax Errors, Real Estate Group Says
PwC should pay £8.9 million ($11.4 million) in damages to a real estate group for miscalculating its tax liabilities and mispricing its properties, which prompted several additional assessments and penalties, according to a claim in a London court.
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August 14, 2024
Adviser Denies Owing Bank £9.2M After Bad Property Loan
A property adviser has denied overvaluing a building development and causing a U.K. bank to lend millions of pounds more than it should have, claiming it made a competent assessment within the same range as other independent valuers.
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August 14, 2024
World Bank Member Sues Lebanese Lender For Unpaid $234M
A member of the World Bank Group is suing Lebanon's largest private lender for more than $234 million in loans and interest payments due over the past four years, as the Middle Eastern state has struggled with a major financial crisis that devalued its currency.
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August 14, 2024
Aegon Launches Digital Pension Comparison Service
Financial firm Aegon UK PLC launched a digital pension transfer comparison service on Wednesday with The Pension Lab to enable savers to compare the costs of different plans.
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August 14, 2024
Pension Funding Surplus Rises To £475B Despite Rate Cut
The funding surplus of British retirement savings plans rose to £475.5 billion ($611 billion) at the end of July, according to official figures released on Wednesday, even as experts warned of the need to hedge against fresh interest rate cuts.
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August 14, 2024
EU Watchdog Sets Priorities For Bank Resolution Rules
The European Union banking watchdog has found banks need to prepare better for the process of orderly failure known as resolution, including by obtaining more accurate data for assessing their financial positions.
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August 14, 2024
FCA Fines, Bans Consultant For Leaving Clients Uninsured
The financial regulator said Wednesday that it has banned an insurance consultant from working in financial services and hit him with a fine of just over £5,000 ($6,430) fine for using funds from clients to pay his business and personal debts.
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August 14, 2024
Cypriot Forex Firm Fined For Exploiting Customers
Britain's financial watchdog said Wednesday that it has hit Cypriot trading firm Forex TB Ltd. with a £276,100 ($355,000) fine for failing to treat customers fairly and providing unauthorized investment advice.
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August 13, 2024
Travelers Defends DWFM Beckman Over Investment Advice
The insurer of now-defunct DWFM Beckman LLP has hit back against claims that the firm negligently advised a real estate investor on an almost £20 million ($25.5 million) deal, denying that the firm advised her on the investment at all.
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August 13, 2024
Probe Unveils €500M Money-Laundering Group, Agency Says
European and Brazilian authorities have searched multiple homes and frozen millions in assets during an operation investigating what is alleged to be an Italian mafia-run money-laundering network worth more than €500 million ($547.8 million), the European Union law enforcement agency Eurojust announced Tuesday.
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August 13, 2024
UK Charity Sector Pension Funding Reaches £50B
The charity sector's pension schemes have seen funding reach £50 billion ($63.9 billion) in 2022, potentially leading to more pension buy-outs, according to a report published Tuesday by pensions consultancy Hymans Robertson LLP.
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August 13, 2024
PA Forced To Visit Boss' Home During Lockdown Wins £115K
Two hedge fund bosses must pay a former personal assistant over £115,000 ($147,468) after an employment tribunal found the businessman had asked her to unnecessarily go against COVID-19 restrictions by working from their homes.
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August 13, 2024
Firm Ex-Director Gets 15-Year Sanction For Investment Scam
A former director of an investment firm has had a ban on working as a company executive extended to 2033 after he was convicted of a Ponzi scheme fraud at an English court, the U.K.'s Insolvency Service has said.
Expert Analysis
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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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What COVID Payout Ruling Means For Lockdown Loss Claims
While the High Court's recent COVID-19 payout decision in Gatwick v. Liberty Mutual, holding that pandemic-related regulations trigger prevention of access clauses, will likely lead to insurers accepting more business interruption claims, there are still evidentiary challenges and issues regarding policy limits and furlough, say Josianne El Antoury and Greg Lascelles at Covington.
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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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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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Crypto As A Coin Of The Corporate Realm: The Pros And Cons
The broadened range of crypto-assets opens up new possibilities for employers looking to recruit, incentivize and retain employees through the use of crypto, but certain risks must be addressed, say Dan Sharman and Sunny Mangatt 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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Key Points Of BoE Response To Digital Pound Consultation
Lawyers at Hogan Lovells analyze the recent Bank of England and U.K. government response to a consultation on the launch of a digital pound, finding that the phased approach to evaluating the issues makes sense given the significant potential impact on the U.K. economy.
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Goldman Prosecution Delivers A Clear Sign Of FCA Strength
The recent successful prosecution of a former Goldman Sachs analyst for insider dealing and fraud is a reminder to regulated individuals that economic crime will never be tolerated, and that the Financial Conduct Authority is willing to bare its teeth in the exercise of its prosecutorial remit, says Doug Cherry at Fladgate.
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The Good, The Bad And The New Of The UK Sanctions Regime
Almost six years after the Sanctions and Money Laundering Act was introduced, the U.K. government has published a strategy paper that outlines its focus points and unveils potential changes to the regime, such as a new humanitarian exception for financial sanctions, highlighting the rapid transformation of the U.K. sanctions landscape, says Josef Rybacki at WilmerHale.
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A Look At Environment Agency's New Economic Crime Unit
Sophie Wood at Kingsley Napley explains how the Environment Agency’s newly established Economic Crime Unit will pursue criminal money flows from environmental offenses, and discusses the unit’s civil powers, including the ability to administer account freezing and forfeiture orders, says Sophie Wood at Kingsley Napley.
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Opinion
UK Whistleblowers Flock To The US For Good Reason
The U.K. Serious Fraud Office director recently brought renewed attention to the differences between the U.K. and U.S. whistleblower regimes — differences that may make reporting to U.S. agencies a better and safer option for U.K. whistleblowers, and show why U.K. whistleblower laws need to be improved, say Benjamin Calitri and Kate Reeves at Kohn Kohn.
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4 Legal Privilege Lessons From Dechert Disclosure Ruling
The Court of Appeal's recent decision in Al Sadeq v. Dechert LLP, finding that evidence may have been incorrectly withheld, provides welcome clarification of the scope of legal professional privilege, including the application of the iniquity exception, says Tim Knight at Travers Smith.
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BT Case May Shape UK Class Action Landscape
The first opt-out collective action trial commenced in Le Patourel v. BT in the U.K. Competition Appeal Tribunal last month, regarding BT's abuse of dominance by overcharging millions of customers, will likely provide clarification on damages and funder returns in collective actions, which could significantly affect the class action regime, say lawyers at RPC.