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Financial Services UK
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June 11, 2024
UniCredit Overturns $69M Plane Payment Sanctions Ruling
UniCredit was entitled to withhold $69.3 million in payments to lessors for Russian planes because of sanctions, a London appellate court ruled Tuesday, partly overturning findings that it was not reasonable for the bank's U.K. branch to believe it could not make the payments.
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June 11, 2024
Deutsche Bank Trader Fights For Compensation 'Assurances'
Deutsche Bank executives gave "assurances" about compensation that the lender must now abide by, a former trader told the High Court in London on Tuesday as she sued for breach of contract.
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June 11, 2024
Serco Denies Directors Knew Of Fraud In Securities Trial
Serco Group PLC denied investors are entitled to compensation over a fraud that caused the outsourcing giant's share price to nosedive, arguing on the second day of a London trial Tuesday that none of its directors had known about the alleged wrongdoing.
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June 11, 2024
Klarna Gets 2nd Shot To Trim Startup's 'Klar' TM
Buy-now, pay-later giant Klarna has won another chance at restricting a German data analytics' "Klar" mark, after a European appeals board ruled the officials had not properly taken the fintech's reputation into account.
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June 11, 2024
Widow Who Signed Docs 'Without Reading' Still Owes $64M
A London appellate court has ruled that a former Hong Kong resident can't escape a personal guarantee to pay 500 million Hong Kong dollars ($64 million) to cover bonds issued by her husband's company, in part because she entered the contract for business purposes.
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June 11, 2024
Travers Smith Recruits Funds Partner From Blackstone
Travers Smith LLP said Tuesday that it had hired a retailization specialist from Blackstone Inc.'s credit and insurance arm as a partner, fortifying its ability to advise fund managers on products previously only available to financial institutions.
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June 11, 2024
Tory Tax Cut Plans Raise Questions On Funding Gaps
The prime minister unveiled plans for £17.2 billion ($21.8 billion) in tax cuts at the launch of the Conservative Party's election manifesto on Tuesday, but a headline cut of two percentage points in the payroll tax was put off for three years — and funding plans left some experts unconvinced.
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June 11, 2024
French Tax Law Challenged On Free Movement Grounds
The European Court of Justice is examining a French law regarding undeclared assets held outside the country to determine whether it is in line with the European Union's law respecting free movement of capital, the EU's official journal said.
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June 11, 2024
Shakespeare Martineau Adds Finance Pro From Blake Morgan
Shakespeare Martineau LLP has hired a finance and banking specialist as a partner at the firm's new offices on the south coast of England, where he will work with new and existing clients across a range of sectors.
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June 11, 2024
FCA Eyes Consumer Impact Of New Legal Cooperation Rules
The Financial Conduct Authority has set out how it is working with the Financial Ombudsman Service and other bodies under a new duty of legal cooperation required by the Consumer Duty and changing payments regulations.
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June 11, 2024
LC&F Administrators Attack Ex-Boss' Credibility In Ponzi Case
The administrators of London Capital & Finance PLC have criticized the company's former head as a "thoroughly unreliable witness" as they closed their case that he and others operated the business as a £237 million ($302 million) Ponzi scheme.
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June 11, 2024
Sunak Pledges Further Tax Cuts In Election Manifesto
Rishi Sunak said on Tuesday that his Conservative Party would establish a tax system that "rewards work" by slashing a range of levies if it wins the general election, including another cut in the national payroll tax by 2027.
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June 11, 2024
BHS Directors To Pay Liquidators £18M For Wrongful Trading
A London judge ordered two former directors of failed retail chain BHS on Tuesday to pay liquidators at least £18 million ($23 million) after finding that they knew that the company was beyond rescue when it was purchased in 2015.
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June 10, 2024
BDO Denies Failing To Help In £18.5M Insurance Broker Sale
Accounting firm BDO LLP has rejected an insurance broker's claims that it is not entitled to payment for merger and acquisition advice because it failed to propose or introduce the buyer that eventually purchased the broker for £18.5 million ($23.6 million).
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June 10, 2024
Serco Accused Of Playing Around With Books As Trial Opens
Institutional investors told a London court Monday that Serco had "played around" with its financial reporting to keeping the government from clocking fraud in its contract for electronic tagging services as a landmark securities trial kicked off.
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June 10, 2024
Next Gov't To Face Tough Pension Decisions, IFS Warns
The next government will need to make some urgent decisions on pension reforms to ensure future retirees are protected, an influential think-tank has warned ahead of the July 4 general election.
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June 10, 2024
PwC Accused Of Negligent Advice As $800M BAT Trial Opens
Bad advice given by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP to a company embroiled in an expensive environmental cleanup caused it to lose "hundreds of millions of euros," a subsidiary of British American Tobacco said at the opening of an $800million negligence trial on Monday.
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June 10, 2024
European Financial Body Calls On UK To Clarify AML Reforms
A European body representing financial market participants has called on HM Treasury to provide more clarity in the Money Laundering Regulations through planned amendments, including by specifying the exact point when a firm must check a potential customer's background.
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June 10, 2024
Lib Dems Vow To Raise Capital Gains Tax For UK's Wealthiest
The U.K.'s third-largest political party vowed on Monday to raise taxes on the country's wealthiest individuals if it wins the next election, in a bid to raise £5 billion ($6.4 billion) for the National Health Service.
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June 10, 2024
10% Of Early Pension Dippers Regret Withdrawals
Approximately one in 10 retirees aged 55 and older who withdrew money from their pension before retirement said they regretted doing so, a retirement savings company said on Monday.
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June 10, 2024
Abraaj Group Hits Back In Fight Over $37M Debt
Abraaj Group has hit back at a claim by a UAE bank that it owns $37 million of debt that the now-defunct private equity giant is trying to recover from a troubled investment project in a Pakistani electricity supplier.
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June 10, 2024
What Tax Experts Hope To See In Labour's Manifesto
Labour's policy manifesto, expected to be unveiled on Thursday, will be studied by tax lawyers for more detail on the fiscal planning being carried out by the clear favorite to win the general election, including a final word on lifetime pension savings.
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June 07, 2024
Feds Charge UK Trio Over $2M 'Evolved Apes' NFT Scheme
Three United Kingdom residents face criminal wire fraud and money laundering charges brought by federal prosecutors in Manhattan alleging they misappropriated cryptocurrency worth roughly $2 million as part of a "rug pull scheme" involving the digital assets known as non-fungible tokens.
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June 07, 2024
Merchants Get OK For Visa, Mastercard Fees Suit On 2nd Try
A group of merchants got a tentative go-ahead Friday to bring a collective action accusing Visa and Mastercard of unfairly imposing interchange fees on retailers after revising weaknesses in the initial proposal at the U.K.'s specialist antitrust court.
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June 07, 2024
Crypto Developers Fight To Gag Wright After 'Satoshi' Trial
A group of cryptocurrency asset developers urged a London judge on Friday to order Australian computer scientist Craig Wright to never again assert that he is the pseudonymous inventor of bitcoin Satoshi Nakamoto, arguing it was the best way to end his "campaign of dishonesty."
Expert Analysis
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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.
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What Justices' Cert. Denial Of Terrorism Suit Means For Banks
The U.S. Supreme Court's denial of certiorari in Freeman v. HSBC Holdings lets stand the Second Circuit's decision on the narrow scope of conspiracy liability under the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, providing protection for banks that otherwise could have faced liability for finance activities with limited connections to third parties' unlawful acts, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Firms Should Prepare For New DEI Reporting Requirements
While the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority's recent proposals on diversity and inclusion in the financial sector are progressive, implementing reporting requirements will pose data collection and privacy protection challenges for employers, say lawyers at Fieldfisher.
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What The UK Digital Markets Bill Will Mean For Businesses
The new investigatory and enforcement powers conferred by the U.K. Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill mean that although businesses may be aware of their market status due to existing EU law, they should ensure they are mindful of the changes to consumer law and the implications for digital markets, says Richard Hugo at Burges Salmon.
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5 Takeaways From ICO's Biometric Recognition Guidance
Recent guidance from the U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office is a helpful reminder of key data protection principles and obligations stemming from the U.K. General Data Protection Regulation that organizations should consider when implementing biometric recognition technology, say lawyers at Dechert.
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Shifting From Technical To Clear Insurance Contract Wordings
Recent developments on insurance policies, including the Financial Conduct Authority's new consumer duty, represent a major shift for insurers and highlight the importance of drafting policies that actively improve understanding, rather than shift the onus onto the end user, say Tamsin Hyland and Jonathan Charwat at RPC.
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A Case For The Green Investment Regime Under The ECT
The EU and U.K.'s potential plans to exit the Energy Charter Treaty, which has been criticized as protecting fossil fuel investments to the detriment of energy transition, ignore the significant strides taken to modernize the treaty and its ability to promote investment in cleaner energy forms, say Amy Frey and Simon Maynard at King & Spalding.
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Considerations For Fund Managers Seeking Retail Investment
With recent legal developments, including a revised Long Term Investment Funds Regulation effective in 2024, supporting the market trend of retailization, there are several practical considerations for alternative fund managers embarking on a European fundraise for retail capital, say Zac Mellor-Clark and Kate Downey at Fried Frank.
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FDI Considerations For UK Venture Capital Transactions
With the U.K. National Security and Investment Act highlighting foreign direct investment matters for venture capital transactions, investors dealing with companies connected to the U.K. should be alive to how the act's requirements can affect deal timelines, structures and terms, say lawyers at Covington.
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How Employers Can Support Neurodiversity In The Workplace
A recent run of cases emphasize employers' duties to make reasonable adjustments for neurodiverse employees under the Equalities Act, illustrating the importance of investing in staff education and listening to neurodivergent workers to improve recruitment, retention and productivity in the workplace, say Anna Henderson and Tim Leaver at Herbert Smith.
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What The Anti-Coercion Instrument Will Bring To The EU
Vassilis Akritidis and Jean-Baptiste Blancardi at Crowell & Moring discuss why the European Union recently adopted a report on the anti-coercion instrument to reform its trade legislation, how the instrument will be used to respond to unfair economic pressure from third countries, and how businesses can impact the EU's decision making.
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Why FCA Crypto Rules Need To Align With UK Gov't Aims
There is a critical need for cryptocurrency regulations that protect consumers while supporting the government's aim to make the U.K. a crypto hub, but the Financial Conduct Authority’s recently effective rules on financial promotion of crypto-assets bring an unintended risk that legitimate firms will be driven out of the market, says Laura Navarathnam at the Crypto Council for Innovation.
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CMA Report On AI May Lead to Greater Competition Control
The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority’s recent report on artificial intelligence foundation models is a sign that developers could face increased merger control and antitrust enforcement, and businesses should be mindful of these views to ensure that their models do not come under investigation, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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UK Mozambique Ruling Will Have Int'l Ramifications
The recent U.K. Supreme Court judgment in Mozambique v. Privinvest considered for the first time stay proceedings under the Arbitration Act, offering guidance on whether claims are a "matter" within the scope of an arbitration clause, which could become a point of reference for foreign courts in the future, say lawyers at Herbert Smith.