Corporate Crime & Compliance UK

Vacuum Or Trap? What Trump's FCPA Halt Means For SFO

U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to stop enforcing bribery laws against American companies creates a potential vacuum for the Serious Fraud Office to fill, though lawyers caution that prosecuting U.S. companies could prove a political hazard for the U.K. enforcement agency.

Blowback From Name And Shame Plan Hurts FCA Credibility

An embarrassing rebuke for the City watchdog's controversial proposal to "name and shame" companies under investigation for financial misconduct at an early stage has undermined its regulatory credibility as well as efforts to boost London's competitiveness as a financial center.

SFO's 1st UWO Hints At New Strategy In Hunt For Illicit Funds

The first unexplained wealth order secured by the Serious Fraud Office, against the former wife of a convicted solicitor, suggests that the agency is thinking creatively about how to use the dirty-money tools at its disposal, although lawyers wonder whether it will be a durable strategy.

ENRC Settlement Shows SFO Ready To Draw Line Under Past

The Serious Fraud Office's recent settlement ending litigation with Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. over alleged misconduct by its officials sidesteps weeks of awkward testimony to free the agency to pursue its growing caseload while drawing another line under its blighted investigation into the miner.

February 11, 2025
£5.5B Tax Evasion Could Be 'Tip Of Iceberg,' Watchdog Warns

The £5.5 billion ($6.8 billion) annual cost of tax evasion drawn up by HM Revenue and Customs is probably "vastly underestimated" — and the authority has no plan to tackle the gap in the public purse, the government's spending watchdog warned Wednesday.
February 11, 2025
Met Office Process For Tackling Sexual Misconduct Upended

A London court ruled Tuesday that the Met's process to pull clearance for police officers accused of sexual misconduct is unlawful, leaving the force in what it called "a hopeless position" to tackle unfit officers after Wayne Couzens' rape and murder conviction.
February 11, 2025
BT Fends Off Customers' Bid To Revive £1.3B Class Action

A group of BT landline customers have failed to revive a £1.3 billion ($2 billion) class action against the telecom giant, after a competition tribunal refused Tuesday to allow an appeal against the first substantive ruling deciding a U.K. collective proceedings order claim.
February 11, 2025
StanChart Bids To Slash £762M From UK Investor Claim

Standard Chartered urged the High Court on Tuesday to strike out claims from passive investors worth £762 million ($943 million) in litigation accusing the bank of making untrue or misleading market statements about its sanctions noncompliance.
February 11, 2025
Tribunal To Consider If FCA Has Equality Duty In Cum-Ex Row

The U.K.'s Upper Tribunal will hold a preliminary hearing to decide whether the Financial Conduct Authority has a duty to not discriminate when it fined and banned a cum-ex trader from the industry, according to a tribunal decision published Tuesday.
February 11, 2025
Barclays Sued Over Staffer's Alleged Role In $643K Fraud

A Singaporean fire safety business has sued Barclays Bank PLC over an elaborate fraud that caused it to send $643,000, alleging that a bank employee was involved in the plot to dupe it into transferring funds to criminals.
February 11, 2025
Procurement Biz Blocks Disclosure In Byju's $533M Debt Fight

A London judge on Tuesday ruled it would be oppressive to force a U.K. procurement company to provide evidence related to an allegedly fraudulent $533 million transaction for Delaware court proceedings involving the bankrupt U.S. subsidiary of Indian educational tech firm Byju's.
February 11, 2025
MPs' WhatsApp Scandal A Cautionary Tale On Privacy At Work

The sanctioning of two Labour members of Parliament for offensive comments made in a group chat is a reminder that what happens on WhatsApp is not private, employment law experts have warned.
February 10, 2025
Pension Execs Found Liable In $2B Danish Tax Fraud Case

A New York federal jury found Monday by "clear and convincing evidence" that Denmark's tax agency reasonably relied on the false statements made on pension plan applications that were part of a $2.1 billion tax fraud scheme by pension plan executives.
February 10, 2025
Financier Bids To Resurrect HMRC Bungled Prosecution Claim

A corporate financier sought permission Monday to challenge a decision to dismiss his claim against HM Revenue and Customs and the Crown Prosecution Service for wrongly prosecuting him, arguing that the judge had failed to properly consider the evidence.
February 10, 2025
Film Executives Ran £13M VAT Fraud, Prosecutors Tell Jury

Four former managers at a film production company best known for "Avatar" cheated taxpayers out of £13 million ($16.14 million) through a "convoluted" VAT scheme run out of the back garden of a modest home in London, prosecutors told a jury on Monday.
February 10, 2025
Billionaire's Daughter Mothballs Purchase Of Infested Mansion

The daughter of a Georgian billionaire and her husband can hand back a £32.5 million ($40 million) London mansion infested with "millions of moths" after a judge found on Monday that the property seller hid the problem.
February 10, 2025
Gov't Prompted To Prioritize Fighting Economic Crime

The U.K. government was urged by a financial services group on Monday to spend more on fighting economic crime and to require that tech companies contribute to fraud reimbursement.
February 10, 2025
Property Boss' Brother Denies Dodging £13M Fraud Recovery

The brother of a property tycoon who funneled £13 million ($16 million) out of his family business has hit back at claims that he transferred his shares from an investment venture to escape attempts to recover funds dissipated from the fraud.
February 10, 2025
BoE Sets Out Pro-Growth Priorities For Finance Infrastructure

The Bank of England this year will focus on regulating financial market infrastructures to help underpin growth, as it benefits from technology such as artificial intelligence, a senior BoE official said Monday.
February 07, 2025
Ousted CMA Chair Says 'Misinformation' Remains A Challenge

The recently ousted chair of the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority reflected on what he said were great strides undoing the antitrust agency's "technocratic" character, but added it made the least progress in combating "lobbying and misinformation" intended to undermine the agency's decisions, including around the cleared Microsoft-Activision merger.
February 07, 2025
Pharmacy Chain Says Seller Inflated Value In £10M M&A Deal

A Yorkshire-based pharmacy chain has brought a £9.9 million ($12.3 million) claim in a London court against the previous owners of a group of pharmacy companies it acquired, alleging they made dishonest statements about the group's finances.
February 07, 2025
UAE Prisoner Subpoenas Ex-Dechert GC Over Torture Claims

A Jordanian lawyer imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates has subpoenaed Dechert's former general counsel in the U.S. over what the law firm's top brass knew of alleged human rights abuses said to have been committed by a former partner.
February 07, 2025
Sheikh Must Pay Costs Or Lose Defense To Inheritance Fight

An Emirati royal accused of embezzling more than $1 billion from his dead father must pay a £90,000 ($112,000) costs order in British proceedings or be blocked from defending his brothers' fight to enforce a £75 million UAE judgment in England.
February 07, 2025
Woman In Spy Trial Denies Coordinating Far-Right Sticker Plot

A woman accused of spying for Russia denied at her trial on Friday that she had directed her best friend to deface Jewish and Russian monuments in Austria with far-right symbols to make it look like the work of supporters of Ukraine.
February 07, 2025
Quantum Computers 'Imminent Threat' To Data, Europol Says

The financial sector faces an "imminent threat" that coded security measures to protect data could be broken by advanced computers and companies must start transitioning to more secure defenses now, a European Union law enforcement agency warned Friday.
February 07, 2025
FCA Doubles Withdrawals, Changes To Misleading Ads In 2024

The Financial Conduct Authority said Friday its interventions led to authorized businesses withdrawing or amending 19,766 misleading advertisements in 2024 — up from 10,008 the previous year.
February 07, 2025
Chinese State-Owned Firm Must Sell UK Semiconductor Stake

A London court has rejected a Chinese state-owned investment company's bid for interim relief against an order to sell its stake in a British semiconductor business over national security concerns.
February 07, 2025
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen Investec Bank PLC sue two diamond tycoons, London florist Nikki Tibbles file a claim against an "imitator company," a direct descendant of the Cartier family launch a claim, and a Coronation Street actor hit footballer Joe Bunney with a defamation claim. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
February 06, 2025
Woman In Spy Trial Denies Knowledge Of 'Honey Trap' Plot

A woman accused of spying for Russia told a criminal court Thursday that she did not know that her paymasters intended to use her as a "honey trap" to seduce an investigative journalist and Kremlin critic.

Editor's Picks

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.
NCA Has 'Pokers In The Fire' On Sanctions, Top Official Says

The effectiveness of Britain's sanctions regime should not be judged solely by court victories, according to a top U.K. law enforcement official who said there are "unrealistic" expectations about the policing of sanctions imposed in response to the war in Ukraine.
FCA's £29M Fine Of Starling Sends Wider Compliance Warning

The Financial Conduct Authority hit Starling Bank Ltd. with a £28.9 million ($38.4 million) fine on Wednesday for inadequate anti-money laundering and sanctions controls. This has sent a wider warning to companies that compliance levels must match growth.

Expert Analysis

Important Changes To Note In Accountant Ethics Code Update

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales' forthcoming code of ethics will bring a number of significant updates to raise standards within the profession, but also risks of professional indemnity claims that could lead to challenges for firms, say lawyers at RPC.
What EU Sustainable Category Proposals Will Mean For Funds

The European Union Platform on Sustainable Finance’s recent proposals to apply stricter product categorization standards for funds subject to the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation will assist retail investors in selecting sustainable products, and allow advisers to easily match their clients’ preferences, say lawyers at Debevoise.
What To Expect As CAT Considers Mastercard Settlement

It is expected that the Competition Appeal Tribunal will closely scrutinize the proposed collective settlement in Merricks v. Mastercard, including the role of the case’s litigation funder, as the CAT's past approach to such cases shows it does not treat the process as a rubber stamp exercise, say lawyers at BCLP.
Managing Transatlantic Antitrust Investigations And Litigation

As transatlantic competition regulators cooperate more closely and European antitrust investigations increasingly spark follow-up civil suits in the U.S., companies must understand how to simultaneously juggle high-stakes multigovernment investigations and manage the risks of expensive new claims across jurisdictions, say lawyers at Paul Weiss.
What 2025 Holds For UK, EU Restructuring And Insolvency

European Union and U.K. restructuring developments in 2024, with a new era of director accountability, the use of cramdown tools and the emergence of aggressive liability management exercises, mean greater consideration of creditors' interests and earlier engagement in restructuring discussions can be expected this year, says Inga West at Ashurst.
What To Know As EU Urges Outbound Investment Reviews

A recent European Commission recommendation urges European Union member states to review outbound investments in certain critical technologies sectors, but does not clarify the next steps for states once information on relevant transactions in third countries is received, say lawyers at Cleary.
Competition Act Brings Important UK Merger Control Changes

Although recently effective sections of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act provide clarity on the transactions that may attract Competition and Markets Authority attention, some reforms potentially expanding the regulator's scope may be concerning to transacting parties, say lawyers at Fried Frank.
How GCs Can Protect Cos. From Geopolitical Headwinds

Geopolitical uncertainty is perceived by corporate leaders as the biggest short-term threat to global business, but many of the potential crises are navigable if general counsel focus on what is being said about a company and what the company is doing, says Juliet Young at Schillings.
What BT Ruling Will Mean For UK Class Actions

The Competition Appeal Tribunal’s recent dismissal of a £1.3 billion mass consumer claim against BT, the first trial decision for a U.K. collective action, reminds claimants and funders of the high bar for establishing an abuse, and provides valuable insight into how pending mass consumer cases may be resolved, say lawyers at Ashurst.
Navigating PRA's Data Request For Crypto-Asset Exposure

The Prudential Regulation Authority’s recent data request for details on financial institutions' crypto-asset exposures should be used as an opportunity for firms to update their compliance procedures, and consider the future use of crypto-assets and related services, says James Wickes at RPC.
Key Points From FCA Financial Crime Guide Updates

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent updates to its financial crime guide reflect the regulator’s learnings on sanctions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, highlighting and clarifying consumer duty, anti-money laundering and other compliance expectations, say lawyers at Womble Bond.
Tax Directive Marks Milestone In Harmonizing EU System

The Council of the European Union’s recently adopted tax directive is a significant step toward streamlining and modernizing procedures for member states, and will greatly reduce administrative burden and compliance costs for cross-border investors, says Martin Phelan at Simmons & Simmons.
Why Nonfinancial Misconduct Should Be On Firms' Radar

Following a recent Financial Conduct Authority survey showing an increase in nonfinancial misconduct, the regulator has made clear that it expects firms to have systems in place to identify and mitigate risks, says Charlotte Pope-Williams at 3 Hare Court.
What New UK Code Of Conduct Will Mean For Directors

The Institute of Directors’ new voluntary code of conduct is intended to help directors make better decisions and enable U.K. businesses to win back eroded public trust, although, with no formal means of enforcement, its effectiveness could be limited, says Sarah Turner at Eversheds Sutherland.
Russian Bankruptcy Ruling Shows Importance Of Jurisdiction

The U.K. Supreme Court's recent decision not to assist a Russian receiver in Kireeva v. Bedzhamov will be of particular interest in cross-border insolvency proceedings, where attention must be paid to assets outside the jurisdiction, and to creditors, who must consider carefully where to apply for a bankruptcy order, say lawyers at McDermott.