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Financial Services UK
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July 22, 2024
Lending Biz CEO Says Director Forced Him To Transfer Shares
A solicitor has asked a court to unwind a share transfer that he allegedly made under duress to an ex-director and a lawyer with whom he was business, claiming that he had to make the transfer to quash a false fraud allegation.
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July 22, 2024
Barclays Bids To Cut £330M From 'Dark Pool' Securities Claim
Barclays urged a London court on Monday to cut claims worth £330 million ($426 million) from securities fraud litigation, arguing that some institutional investors were unaware of a regulatory announcement issued by the bank about its "dark pool" trading platform.
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July 22, 2024
EU Renews Russian Financial Sanctions For 6 Months
The Council of the European Union said Monday that it has extended financial sanctions against Russia for an additional six months in response to the Kremlin's "unprovoked, unjustified and illegal" war against Ukraine.
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July 22, 2024
UK Eases Reporting Rules For Investment Stewardship
Britain's accounting watchdog unveiled changes to the U.K.'s stewardship code for investment on Monday that it said would help reduce the reporting burden for investors.
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July 22, 2024
Gov't Plans 'Big Bang' Pensions Reform To Fuel UK Growth
The government has launched the first stage of its review into pensions as it focuses on generating more investment from the £800 billion ($10.3 billion) defined contribution sector into the economy.
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July 29, 2024
White & Case Hires Secondaries Pro From Ropes & Gray
White & Case LLP has hired an expert in U.S. and European secondaries transactions from Ropes & Gray LLP in London as it continues to expand its global investment funds practice.
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July 19, 2024
Ex-Lib Dem Leader Swinson Grilled Over Horizon Scandal
Former Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson told an inquiry on Friday into the Post Office accounting scandal that she was reassured when she was the minister responsible for the organization that its systems were robust.
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July 19, 2024
Staveley Drops Fight Over £3.4M Payment In Loan Dispute
A London judge ended Newcastle United co-owner Amanda Staveley's legal battle over a debt to a Greek shipping magnate after her lawyers said Friday that she had made the over £3.4 million ($4.4 million) payment she had been expected to challenge.
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July 19, 2024
Cifas Justifies Marking Bank Activity For Suspected Fraud
The operator of the U.K.'s national fraud database has hit back at a £144,000 ($186,000) data protection claim in a London court, saying it was justified in marking a London resident's bank activity for suspected fraud.
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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.
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.