Corporate Crime & Compliance UK

Wider FCA Misconduct Rule Risks Over-Reporting Of Staff

The rule change proposed by the Financial Conduct Authority on non-financial misconduct for 37,000 companies outside the banking sector will generate pressure on businesses to protectively report employees to the regulator rather than risk later accusations of noncompliance.

FCA's New Enforcement Regime Threatens Firms, Individuals

The Financial Conduct Authority could damage the reputations of businesses and individuals under investigation in cases that it publicizes anonymously as an unintended consequence of a new enforcement policy, lawyers have warned.

Jes Staley at the Rolls Building in London

How Staley's Legal Bid To Save His Reputation Backfired

Former Barclays boss James "Jes" Staley's bid to salvage his reputation has backfired in the face of a London tribunal's findings he "lacked credibility" due to the "overwhelming" evidence of his close relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

AI-Driven Fake Evidence Could 'Play Havoc' In Legal Disputes

A recent High Court judgment exposed how nonexistent artificial intelligence-generated citations had been used in legal arguments — but experts say this could be the tip of the iceberg for increasingly sophisticated fake evidence making its way into disputes.

July 07, 2025
Malaysia Info Demand Gets Green Light In $14.9B Dispute

A Delaware judge has declined to nix an order allowing units of Malaysia's national energy company to seek discovery relating to a third-party funding deal that led to a $14.9 billion arbitral award issued against Kuala Lumpur following a territorial dispute stemming from a 19th-century land deal.
July 07, 2025
Campaign Groups Fight For Full 'Dieselgate' Documents

Automakers accused of fitting emissions-test cheating devices in their cars should be forced to remove redactions they have made to documents filed in litigation brought by U.K. motorists, two climate campaign organizations argued at a hearing on Monday.
July 07, 2025
Apple Appeals 'Unprecedented' €500M EU Digital Markets Fine

Apple Inc. launched an appeal on Monday to the European Commission's €500 million ($586 million) fine over anticompetitive behavior on its App Store that allegedly breached the European Union's Digital Markets Act.
July 07, 2025
Law Firm Gets 'Vague' £4.6M Negligence Case Struck Out

A London court struck out on Monday an energy company's £4.6 million ($6.3 million) claim against Benson Mazure LLP, because the law firm would have unreasonable difficulty understanding and responding to the "vague and confused" case.
July 07, 2025
TikTok Loses Appeal Over £12.7M Children's Data Fine

TikTok has failed to overturn a £12.7 million ($17.3 million) fine imposed for misusing children's personal data, after a tribunal Monday rejected the argument that the processing of the data was for creative or artistic purposes.
July 07, 2025
Funder Claims Developer Used Biz As Facade To Pocket £4M

A litigation funder has alleged that a property developer owes it more than £3.8 million ($5.2 million) for pocketing his real estate business' money for nothing in return and operating his company as a facade to renovate properties he owns without taking on liability for the work.
July 07, 2025
Rail Passengers Claim Just Fraction Of £25M Stagecoach Deal

Train passengers have claimed only £216,000 ($295,000) in compensation from a multimillion-pound settlement with Stagecoach, the Competition Appeal Tribunal revealed on Monday as it said it would consider ordering a "substantial payment to charity" from the unclaimed money.
July 07, 2025
Leaders Of €15M Motor Oil VAT Scheme Convicted, EU Says

Three ringleaders of a €15 million ($17.6 million) value-added tax fraud ring involving motor oil were among 13 people convicted for their roles in the scheme, with Italian courts handing out a combined 34 years in sentences, the European Public Prosecutor's Office said.
July 07, 2025
Pension Regulator Teams With Industry On Net-Zero Transition

The Pensions Regulator said Monday it will work with workplace pension schemes and financial advisers to develop a format for occupational pension schemes to develop voluntary transition plans in line with the government's aim to reach net-zero by 2050.
July 07, 2025
FCA Amends Exposed-Persons Definition In AML Guidance

The City watchdog published amended guidance on Monday on politically exposed persons that loosen the rules for holders of prominent public positions in the U.K., in a bid to make the safeguards more proportionate.
July 04, 2025
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

The past week in London has seen the owner of Crystal Palace and the troubled Olympique Lyonnais football clubs sue its current chief executive John Textor, Fieldfisher faces a claim by Georgian businessman Zaza Okusahvili, and a dispute partner at Travers Smith file a personal injury claim against the firm.
July 04, 2025
Ex-Janus Analyst, Sister Given 11 Years For Insider Trading

A former City hedge fund analyst and his sister were sentenced by a London judge on Friday to a combined 11 years in prison for insider dealing and money laundering after they traded using confidential information to earn almost £1 million ($1.36 million) illegally.
July 04, 2025
Ankle Tag Investors Deny £320M Conspiracy With Sacked CEO

Investors in a company which makes ankle tags have denied a £320 million ($437 million) claim that they conspired with the business's ousted chief executive to unlawfully profit from share sales.
July 04, 2025
Pair Gets 12 Years In Prison For £1.5M Crypto-Investment Fraud

A London judge sentenced two men convicted of fraud to almost 12 years imprisonment on Friday for their involvement in a £1.5 million ($1.9 million) crypto-investment scam that spanned more than two years.
July 04, 2025
Sheikh Must Pay Brothers $240M Each In Inheritance Fight

The son of an Emirati royal accused of embezzling more than $1 billion from his dead father must give two of his brothers approximately $240 million each for their shares in their father's estate, a London court ruled on Friday.
July 03, 2025
Fraud Review Finds Early Interest In Whistleblowers

There is "growing interest" in enlisting whistleblowers to help investigators crack fraud cases following extensive talks with law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges and defense lawyers, according to a barrister reviewing the controversial topic for the government.
July 03, 2025
EU Regulators Close Ranks To Fight Money Laundering

Europe's financial regulators said on Thursday they would work with the bloc's new central anti-money laundering watchdog to ensure the effective exchange of information to combat white-collar crime.
July 03, 2025
Ex-Solicitor Admits Defrauding Clients Out Of £137K

A former solicitor and part-time judge admitted at a London criminal court on Thursday that he defrauded and stole from more than a dozen clients by appropriating at least £137,000 ($187,000) in payments to himself.
July 03, 2025
Man Denies FCA £3.9M Water Investment Fraud Charges

A man denied that he took part in a £3.9 million ($5.3 million) water investment scam when he appeared at a criminal court in London on Thursday.
July 03, 2025
Ex-Pensions Ombudsman Urges Gov't To Sustain Funding

The former head of the Pensions Ombudsman has praised the work of an anti-fraud unit established four years ago after it emerged that the government was pulling funding for the service.
July 03, 2025
Ex-Perfume Boss Can't Ax Claim Over Russia Sales

A London judge refused Thursday to throw out a claim that accused the former boss of a luxury perfume group of damaging the reputation of his business after he admitted to exporting high-value products to Russia.
July 03, 2025
CPS Nixes Claim From Law Grad Turned Serial Litigant

A tribunal has thrown out a discrimination claim against the Crown Prosecution Service brought by a law graduate whose persistent legal action recently led a London judge to ban him from making further claims.
July 02, 2025
Oil Biz Seeks To Toss Ex-Directors' Sanctions Breach Defense

A Singaporean oil company urged a judge Wednesday to throw out allegations that it breached U.S. sanctions on Iran made by its alleged former chief executive, whom it has accused of embezzling €143.8 million ($169.2 million).
July 02, 2025
EU Finance Watchdog Sets Guidelines To Avoid Greenwashing

European financial services businesses must ensure any claims they make about the sustainability of their financial products or services are accurate, accessible, substantiated and up to date, according to guidance from the bloc's financial watchdog.
July 02, 2025
Hotel Operator Says Ex-Director Stole £800K After Fire Payout

A hotel operator has alleged that its former director gained unauthorized access to its bank account three years after his resignation and stole almost £800,000 ($1.1 million) after an insurance payout for a fire that destroyed the building.

Editor's Picks

6 Bombshell Moments From Staley's Bid To Clear His Name

Jes Staley has suffered a bruising week as he testified about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, culminating in an admission by the former banker that he had sex with a member of the disgraced financier's staff.
5 Questions For Spencer West Partner Karl Foster

The Financial Conduct Authority's approach to enforcement and consumer protection has come up against government economic growth priorities and resistance from the sector to its proposals to "name and shame" companies early on during regulatory probes.
UK Russia Sanctions Face Landmark Test At Supreme Court

The U.K.'s sanctions regime faces a major test on Wednesday as billionaire Eugene Shvidler seeks to have his financial restrictions cast off — the first case to challenge Russian sanctions that has reached the country's highest court.

Expert Analysis

Anticipating A Shift In CMA Merger Control Enforcement

As the Competition and Markets Authority outlines plans to put the U.K. government's growth objectives into action, the changes may well pave the way for a more permissive outlook for review of mergers and acquisitions in the U.K., say lawyers at A&O Shearman.
Court Backing Of FCA Pensions Ruling Sends Key Message

The Upper Tribunal’s recent upholding of the Financial Conduct Authority's decisions against CFP Management directors serves as a judicial endorsement of the regulator’s approach to defined benefit transfers, underscoring that where the advisory model is fundamentally flawed, the consequences for those in control can be severe, say lawyers at RPC.
What To Note As UK Adopts OECD Crypto Disclosure Rules

With the U.K.’s recent announcement that it will adopt the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's crypto-asset reporting framework, users and providers will benefit from understanding the context surrounding the decision and the framework's intended goal of clamping down on tax evasion, say lawyers at Brown Rudnick.
Why UK Sanctions Review Recommendations Lack Substance

The recent U.K. cross-government sanctions enforcement review makes welcome but unambitious recommendations, and without increasing funding for sanctions agencies or developing a whistleblower incentivization scheme, it is unlikely to result in tangible support for the sectors that most need it, say lawyers at WilmerHale.
How UK Law Firms Can Counter Money Laundering Threat

With figures released in May showing that money laundering was the biggest source of fraud in the U.K. last year, law firms should focus on internal identification and prevention strategies, considering the scale and nature of potential risk exposure depends on several business factors, says Niall Hearty at Rahman Ravelli.
Key Takeaways As EU And UK Impose New Russia Sanctions

The European Union and U.K.’s new sanctions on Russia, designating increasing numbers of non-Russian companies in the defense and shipping sectors, mean that organizations must examine from the outset whether a transaction has any nexus with the EU or the U.K., say lawyers at Sullivan & Cromwell.
8 Ways Law Firms Can Prepare For SRA's AML Offensive

The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s recent plans to intensify anti-money laundering enforcement means firms need to concentrate on strengthening client matter risk assessments, policies and procedures, source of funds checks and firmwide risk assessments, says Harriet Holmes at Thirdfort.
How Unfair Practice Rules Boost Consumer Protections

With the consumer protection aspects of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act now in force, companies must not only ensure their business is not engaged in prohibited practices, but also consider how consumers make decisions to acquire goods and services, say lawyers at Linklaters.
Fraud Office Guidance Highlights Value Of Self-Reporting

New guidance from the U.K.'s Serious Fraud Office on corporate self-reporting, cooperation and deferred prosecution agreements provides a useful framework for companies navigating criminal investigations and their potential resolutions — and underscores that corporations that self-report are in a better position to obtain DPAs than those that do not, say lawyers at Skadden.
Answering Key Questions About 2 EU Cybersecurity Laws

As companies work to implement two nascent European Union cybersecurity measures, the Digital Operational Resilience Act and the second Network and Information Security Directive, lawyers at MoFo address nine conceptual questions emerging around their interpretation and compliance obligations.
Industry Input Is Key As EU Weighs New Tariffs On US Trade

The European Commission’s ongoing consultation, which seeks feedback on a proposed expansion of products subject to tariffs and restrictions in retaliation to U.S. tariffs, opens an important opportunity for industry stakeholders to highlight why a scope exclusion is warranted, say lawyers at Crowell & Moring.
What End of Payment Systems Regulator Means For Biz

The U.K. government’s plan to abolish the Payment Systems Regulator and absorb its functions into the Financial Conduct Authority should eventually lighten the compliance burden for businesses under the PSR’s remit, which may in turn encourage growth, but the proposed changes will roll out slowly, say lawyers at Farrer & Co.
Compliance Lessons From Art Dealer's Terror Financing Plea

Regulated businesses can learn from the missteps of a recently convicted London art dealer, who failed to disclose sales to a suspected Hezbollah financier, by implementing compliance measures like anti-terrorism financing screenings as robust as their anti-money laundering policies and training staff to spot red flags, say lawyers at White & Case.
UK Capital Reforms May Help Startup Founders, VC Investors

Hidden in the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority's recent proposals on the definition of capital for investment firms are changes to the eligibility requirements for instruments to be included in a firm's regulatory capital — changes that may reduce the risk of investing, especially in early-stage fintech firms, says Andrew Henderson at Goodwin.
EU Watchdog's ESG Dashboard Raises Transparency Bar

The European Banking Authority’s recently introduced ESG dashboard is a key tool in aligning financial institutions with the European Union's sustainability policies, and fundamentally alters the risk environment by transitioning climate-related data from a compliance afterthought to a core component of strategic decision-making, says Kristýna Tupá at Schönherr.