An Anglo-Italian financier has settled his libel action against a newspaper publisher in which he alleged that the paper wrongly accused him of orchestrating a €454 million ($536 million) property fraud against the Vatican.
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

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Financier Settles Libel Case Over €454M Vatican Fraud Claims

By William Janes

An Anglo-Italian financier has settled his libel action against a newspaper publisher in which he alleged that the paper wrongly accused him of orchestrating a €454 million ($536 million) property fraud against the Vatican.

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One Essex Court Barrister Sued For Negligence In £32M Case

By Hanna Vioque

Billionaire Michael Platt and his hedge fund have accused a One Essex Court barrister of negligence by failing to set out two key appeal arguments in a dispute with tax authorities over a £32.25 million ($44 million) charge.

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Law Firms, Claims Managers Warned On Motor Finance Cases

By Alex Davidson

Financial and legal regulators warned claims management companies and law firms handling claims for motor finance compensation on Wednesday to avoid multiple representation of consumers and ensure that any fees they charge are fair.

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LITIGATION

Russells Beats Claim Over Alleged IP Biz Share Sale Plot

By William Janes

A London court struck out an executive's case on Wednesday that two of his business associates and Russells Solicitors plotted to hide plans for a $40 million takeover of a celebrity intellectual property licensing company to get him to sell his shares cheaply.

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Quinn Emanuel Client Appeals To Block Ex-Staffer's Abuse

By Eddie Beaver

A client of Quinn Emanuel argued at a London appeals court on Wednesday that judges can restrain a former employee from sending abusive messages to the firm's lawyers if the conduct interferes with the court's processes.

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POLICY & REGULATION

Reform Housing Sector To Boost UK Investment, PIC Urges

By Joel Poultney

Britain's housing and infrastructure sector requires "immediate reform" to unlock billions of pounds for investment, Pension Insurance Corp. has said, calling for a raft of changes to remove the barriers preventing capital being steered toward the country.

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DEALS

DLA Piper Steers Marine Biz In £55M Pension Deal With PIC

By Tom Fish

Global financial services and marine operations group Bibby Line has completed a £55 million ($75 million) buy-in transaction with Pension Insurance Corp. PLC, the insurer said Wednesday, securing the retirement benefits of 667 plan members.

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Brief

UK Pension Funds Exposed To AI Bubble, LCP Warns

By Martin Croucher

The country's largest defined contribution pension funds are potentially exposed to a correction in U.S. artificial intelligence stocks, a consultancy warned Wednesday.

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Brief

Santander Launches €5B Buyback, Buys US Bank For $12B

By Irene Madongo

Spanish banking giant Santander said on Wednesday that it will begin a share buyback worth up to €5.03 billion ($5.9 billion) to downsize its share capital — a day after it agreed to acquire U.S. bank Webster Financial Corp. for $12.3 billion.

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Brief

UBS Announces $3B Share Buyback As Profit Jumps

By Irene Madongo

UBS unveiled a share repurchase plan of at least $3 billion on Wednesday as it disclosed a leap in its net profit.

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PEOPLE

Ropes & Gray Adds 10-Lawyer Linklaters Team In Paris

By Ashish Sareen

Ropes & Gray LLP has recruited a team of 10 lawyers from Linklaters LLP for its new office in Paris as it seeks to boost its services to clients in private funds and tax matters in Europe and worldwide.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

4 Securities Trends For Pension Trustees To Watch In 2026

With the U.K. signaling it will soon demand more active fiduciary stewardship from pension trustees, British and EU fund managers must follow key trends in mass securities litigation, investment disclosures, and U.S. enforcement that could require intervening for their investors in 2026, say lawyers at Labaton Keller.

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Exploring The Rise In European Private Credit Loan Portability

The increasing use of portability mechanics in loan documentation can make sales processes more attractive to buyers and brings cost savings to sellers, but there are concerns over the portability's impact on competition and differences in sponsors’ goals, say lawyers at King & Spalding.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

4 New Square

CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang

Clifford Chance

DLA Piper

HSF Kramer

King & Spalding

Labaton Keller

Linklaters LLP

One Essex Court

Quinn Emanuel

Reynolds Porter

Ropes & Gray

Withersworldwide

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Amazon.com Inc.

Apple Inc.

Banco Santander SA

BlueCrest Capital Management LLP

EQT Corp.

Google LLC

Jaguar Land Rover Ltd.

London Stock Exchange Group PLC

MasterCard Inc.

Microsoft Corp.

NVIDIA Corp.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Royal Mail Group PLC

Solicitors Regulation Authority Ltd.

Tesla Inc.

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

UBS Group AG

Webster Financial Corp.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Bank of England

Competition Appeal Tribunal

European Commission

European Union

Financial Conduct Authority

HM Revenue & Customs

House of Commons of the United Kingdom

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

UK Court of Appeal

UK High Court

UK National Cyber Security Centre