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Financial Services UK
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September 09, 2024
A&O Shearman Hires PE Pros From Sidley Austin In London
A&O Shearman LLP said Monday it has secured a double-hire from Sidley Austin LLP in London as the firm expands its global private equity practice.
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September 02, 2024
OFSI To Bring 1st Penalty For Sanctions Violation This Year
Britain's sanctions enforcer will bring the first penalty for breaching the banning rules later this year as the agency looks to crack down on Russian oligarchs whose assets have been frozen since the invasion of Ukraine, a senior Treasury official said Monday.
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September 02, 2024
Greensill, Gupta Deny Conspiracy In Zurich Insurance Row
Financier Lex Greensill and steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta have denied conspiring to deceive underwriters at insurance giant Zurich over allegedly fake debts, amid a $400 million court battle in London over trade credit insurance.
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September 02, 2024
Manolete Wins Nearly £1M Over Director's Breach Of Duties
An insolvency litigation financing company has secured a victory worth £918,590 ($1.2 million) against the former director of Just Recruit Group Ltd. after a court found that he had breached his duties during the financial collapse of the business.
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September 02, 2024
Tribunal Backs FCA In Denying Ashraf Wealth Management
A London Tribunal upheld on Monday the Financial Conduct Authority's decision to deny authorization to Ashraf Wealth Management Ltd., after the regulator concluded its founder should not carry out regulated activities unsupervised.
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September 02, 2024
William Fry Guides Ireland In AIB's €500M Buyback
Allied Irish Banks said Monday that it plans to buy back €500 million ($550 million) of its shares from the Irish state to reduce its crisis-era bailout stake in the lender after it disclosed "a very strong first half" of the year.
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September 02, 2024
EU Asset Managers Seek Strong Governance On Data Feeds
A trade body for European asset managers called on Monday for strong governance of providers of consolidated tapes, which set out prices and volumes of shares and bonds in bloc-wide feeds for investors.
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August 30, 2024
UK's Labour Gov't Urged To Raise Capital Gains Tax
The Labour government is facing calls to raise the capital gains tax despite financial firms advising investors to sell off their assets or even leave the United Kingdom over the possible tax hike.
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August 30, 2024
Couple Accused Of £29B Fraud Forced To Disclose Wealth
A Chinese couple could be forced to divulge how they built a multimillion-pound property business in the U.K. after a London judge ruled Friday that investigators had reason to suspect their money came from an alleged £29 billion ($38 billion) banking fraud.
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August 30, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen television property developer Kambiz Babaee hit with a fraud claim, a Bitcoin podcaster reignite a dispute with Australian computer scientist Craig Wright and football club owner Massimo Cellino's company file a claim against ClearBank. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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August 30, 2024
Swiss Banks Face Legal Issues On Instant Payments
The Swiss Banking Association has warned that the requirement for the largest banks to offer instant payments from August is raising challenges around legal requirements like verifying the recipient's identity and sanctions checks.
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August 30, 2024
Widow Alleges Stake To $3B Oligarch Fortune Is Made Up
The widow and daughter of a Russian cement tycoon have argued that his family "invented" a business partnership agreement to rob them of inheritance, in the latest development of a fight over more than $3 billion in assets.
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August 30, 2024
Standard Life Named 'Safe Haven' For Defrauded Pensioners
Insurer Standard Life has been appointed as a "safe haven" pension provider for members of retirement schemes that have lost out to fraud, the company said.
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August 29, 2024
Fight Against Dirty Money Should Target Lawyers, Report Says
Britain's use of foreign aid to fund the fight against dirty money overseas falls short of what is needed, an anti-corruption charity warned Thursday, as it urged law enforcement authorities to take action against those who help perpetrators.
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August 29, 2024
Feds Say Ex-BigLaw Atty Can't Shake OneCoin Conviction
Federal prosecutors have told the Second Circuit that former Locke Lord LLP partner Mark S. Scott has "greatly exaggerate[d]" the importance of testimony from a government witness, some of which was later shown to be perjury, in a bid to have his money laundering conviction reversed.
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August 29, 2024
Oil Execs Get 13 Years For $1.8B 1MDB Fraud
Two former PetroSaudi executives have been sentenced at a Swiss court to a combined 13 years in prison for embezzling more than $1.8 billion from Malaysia's state-backed investment fund in what prosecutors said was one of the biggest frauds ever perpetrated.
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August 29, 2024
Pension Consolidator Would Be Useful, Broadstone Says
Proposals put forward by the previous government to launch a public sector consolidator of retirement savings plans run by the pensions lifeboat fund would be a "welcome addition" to the market, Broadstone said Thursday.
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August 29, 2024
EU Warns That Greenwashing Risk Could Hit Investment
The European Union's markets watchdog said Thursday in its latest risk monitoring report that greenwashing and related malpractices are undermining investor trust and the credibility of green finance.
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August 29, 2024
Another British Steel Pension Adviser Declared In Default
A financial adviser connected to the British Steel pension scandal has been declared in default by the U.K.'s lifeboat scheme.
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August 29, 2024
UK Teetering On Pensions Crisis, Mercer Warns
The U.K. needs pension reform to avert a looming crisis that threatens a secure retirement for pensioners, according to a report by American consultancy firm Mercer LLC released Thursday.
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August 29, 2024
Ombudsman Reports 70% Surge In Financial Complaints
Users of financial products lodged 70% more complaints in the first quarter of the 2024/25 financial year compared with the corresponding previous period, the Financial Ombudsman Service reported on Thursday, a jump from almost 44,000 to approximately 75,000.
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August 29, 2024
Law Firm Can Use Client Comms To Fight Conspiracy Claim
A commercial law firm and its solicitor can fully plead their defenses against claims of conspiracy, a London court has ruled, finding that details of communication with clients are not limited by legal professional privilege because of a recently clarified legal exception.
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August 28, 2024
Businessman Can't Force $1B Gramercy Suit Into Arbitration
A Wyoming federal judge has ruled that Gramercy Funds Management will not have to arbitrate its racketeering lawsuit accusing a Ukrainian businessman of fraudulently transferring more than a billion dollars from his agricultural business, a debtor of the Connecticut-based hedge fund.
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August 28, 2024
Collapsed Forex Broker To Pay Whistleblowing Exec £564K
A compliance director at a foreign exchange brokerage who reported the firm to the financial services watchdog over its alleged illicit activities has won more than £560,000 ($740,000) after a tribunal ruled the company had unlawfully sacked him.
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August 28, 2024
BoE To Widen Checks On How Finance Absorbs Disruption
The Bank of England has said it will develop its approach to assessing how financial markets deal with disruption to cover new technologies and more risks, potentially extending its scrutiny beyond the payments sector.
Expert Analysis
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Cos. Must Monitor Sanctions Regime As Law Remains Unclear
While recent U.K. government guidance and an English High Court's decision in Litasco v. Der Mond Oil, finding that a company is sanctioned when a designated individual is exercising control over it, both address sanctions control issues, disarray in the law remains, highlighting that practitioners should keep reviewing their exposure to the sanctions regime, say lawyers at K&L Gates.
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Unpacking The UK's Proposals To Regulate Crypto-Assets
Recent proposals for crypto-asset regulation in the U.K. demonstrate support for crypto's potential, but there is concern around the authorization process for organizations undertaking crypto-asset activities, and new regulations will require a more detailed assessment of firms' compliance not previously addressed, say Jessica Lee and Menelaos Karampetsos at Brown Rudnick.
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The Top 7 Global ESG Litigation Trends In 2023
To date, ESG litigation across the world can largely be divided into seven forms, but these patterns will continue developing, including a rise in cases against private and state actors, a more complex regulatory environment affecting multinational companies, and an increase in nongovernmental organization activity, say Sophie Lamb and Aleksandra Dulska at Latham.
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UK Takeover Code Changes: Key Points For Bidders, Targets
Newly effective amendments to Rule 21 of the U.K. Takeover Code, which remove legal and administrative constraints on a target operating its business in the ordinary way during an offer, will add clarity for targets and bidders, and are likely to be welcomed by both, say lawyers at Davis Polk.
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Russia Ruling Shows UK's Robust Jurisdiction Approach
An English High Court's recent decision to grant an anti-suit injunction in the Russia-related dispute Renaissance Securities v. Chlodwig Enterprises clearly illustrates that obtaining an injunction will likely be more straightforward when the seat is in England compared to when it is abroad, say lawyers at Linklaters.
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How New Loan Origination Regime Will Affect Fund Managers
Although the recent publication of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive II represents more of an evolution than a revolution, the leverage limitations applicable to loan-originating funds are likely to present practical challenges for European credit fund managers, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
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How EU Sustainability Directive Will Improve Co. Reporting
The need for organizations to make nonfinancial disclosures under the recently adopted EU Sustainability Reporting Standards will significantly change workforce and human rights reporting, and with the objective of fostering transparency, should bring about an increased focus on risks, policies and action plans, say Philip Spyropoulos and Thomas Player at Eversheds Sutherland.
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PPI Ruling Spells Trouble For Financial Services Firms
The Supreme Court's recent decision in Canada Square v. Potter, which found that the claimant's missold payment protection insurance claim was not time-barred, is bad news for affected financial services firms, as there is now certainty over the law on the postponement of limitation periods, rendering hidden commission claims viable, say Ian Skinner and Chris Webber at Squire Patton.
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What Lawyers Can Learn From FDI Screening Report Findings
The recent European Commission report on the screening of foreign direct investments into the EU reveals how member states need to balance national security concerns with openness, and with more cross-border transactions subject to screening, lawyers must be alert to jurisdictional variances, says Jonathon Gunn at Faegre Drinker.
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UK Review May Lead To Lower Investment Screening Burden
The government’s current review of national security investment screening rules aims to refine the scope of mandatory notifications required for unproblematic deals, and is likely to result in much-needed modifications to minimize the administrative burden on businesses and investors, say lawyers at Simpson Thacher.
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Economic Crime Act Exposure: What Companies Can Expect
The intention of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act is to make it easier to attribute criminal liability to companies if a senior manager has committed an offense, but the impact on corporate criminal convictions depends on who qualifies as a senior manager and the evidential challenges in showing it, say Hayley Ichilcik and Julius Handler at MoFo.
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FCA Promotions Review Sends A Strong Message To Firms
The recent FCA review into firms' compliance with the rules on promoting high-risk investments to retail clients clarifies that it expects the letter and the spirit of the rules to be followed, and given the interplay with the consumer duty, there are wider implications at stake, say Marina Reason and Chris Hurn at Herbert Smith.
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When Can Bonuses Be Clawed Back?
The High Court's recent decision in Steel v. Spencer should remind employees that the contractual conditions surrounding bonuses and the timing of any resignation must be carefully considered, as in certain circumstances, bonuses can and are being successfully clawed back by employers, say Merrill April and Rachael Parker at CM Murray.
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The State Of UK Litigation Funding After Therium Ruling
The recent English High Court decision in Therium v. Bugsby Property has provided a glimmer of hope for litigation funders about how courts will interpret this summer's U.K. Supreme Court ruling that called funding agreements impermissible, suggesting that its adverse effects may be mitigated, says Daniel Williams at DWF Law.
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UK Shareholding Report A Missed Opportunity For New Tech
The recommendations in the U.K. Digitization Taskforce's recent report on digitizing and improving the U.K. shareholding framework are moderate but not revolutionary, and its failure to recommend digital ledger technology will impede a full transformation of the system, say Tom Bacon and Andrew Tsang at BCLP.