Corporate Crime & Compliance UK

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FCA's 'Disgraceful' Response To Ruling Knocks Credibility

The Financial Conduct Authority's "disgraceful" response to a recent legal setback in a key enforcement case risks diminishing its reputation — adding to the pain of a critical costs judgment that lawyers say could prompt the watchdog to rethink how it approaches cases.
December 08, 2023
EU Policymakers Clear Way For Passing Of Landmark AI Act

European Union policymakers on Friday reached an agreement on rules that would put guardrails on businesses' use of artificial intelligence, removing the final major barrier to the bloc enacting the world's first comprehensive law to tackle the potential risks posed by AI systems.
December 08, 2023
Court Delays Plan For Unprecedented 'Dieselgate' Claim

A London court ruled on Friday that a 2024 hearing should take place to finally determine the scope and content of trials in juggernaut litigation brought by 1.25 million motorists who say emission cheating devices were fitted into their cars.
December 08, 2023
NHS Wrong To Fire Whistleblower, Employment Tribunal Finds

A tribunal has ruled that a National Health Service trust unfairly sacked a whistleblower over a breakdown in relations with colleagues, concluding a senior manager tainted a probe into a troubled human resources department.
December 08, 2023
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

The past week in London has seen Tesla drive patent proceedings against technology company InterDigital, Genesis band members say That's (not) All in a breach of contract claim against Virgin Records, and betting giant Entain play its hand in a claim over its acquisition of BetCity last year. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
December 08, 2023
Car Carriers Win Appeal Over Class Member Contact

A group of car shippers succeeded on Friday in tossing out an order banning them from communicating with motorists, a decision that clarifies implied rules governing communication between defendants and proposed members of a class action.
December 08, 2023
Tory Donor Battles BBC Over Corruption Reports' Meaning

The BBC and a donor to the Conservative Party battled in a London court on Friday over the meanings of an online article and an episode of the flagship "Panorama" investigative program that alleged he was involved in a Swedish telecommunications bribery scandal.
December 08, 2023
Watchdog Criticizes Scale Of Incomplete Local Gov't Audits

The accounting watchdog said Friday that it is "very disappointing" that scores of incomplete local government audits have restricted its ability to oversee and inspect financial reporting in the sector.
December 08, 2023
Mobile Giants Face £3.3B Class Action Over Loyalty Penalties

Law firm Charles Lyndon and a consumer rights advocate are assembling a claim against four mobile phone operators including Vodafone and EE, alleging that they overcharged 28.2 million customers billions of pounds by taking advantage of their dominance to abuse consumer loyalty.
December 08, 2023
Prince Harry Can't Win Tabloid Libel Claim Without Trial

Prince Harry suffered a setback in his libel claim against a tabloid publisher on Friday after a London court found there is a "real prospect" of Associated Newspapers Ltd. successfully establishing an honest opinion defense at trial.
December 07, 2023
Russians Charged With Hacking US, UK Intelligence Officials

Two men who work for the Russian Federal Security Service have been charged in California federal court with hacking email accounts belonging to current and former U.S. and United Kingdom intelligence officials, defense contractors, researchers and journalists, and leaking some of the information to the press ahead of the 2019 U.K. elections.
December 07, 2023
MPs Criticize Slow Progress Of Financial Services Reforms

Senior MPs said on Friday that government reforms to make the U.K.'s financial services more innovative and competitive have progressed too slowly and had little economic impact.
December 07, 2023
EU Fines Ethanol Producer €47M For Benchmark Manipulation

European enforcers ended an ethanol cartel investigation on Thursday, fining Swedish producer Lantmännen Biorefineries AB around €47.7 million ($51.5 million) for allegedly participating in a scheme to maintain high prices by manipulating a key benchmark.
December 07, 2023
DWF Did Not Conspire To Accept Trial Defeat, Judge Says

The former owners of a security company failed to convince a London judge that their former barristers and DWF LLP conspired against them in a 2017 fraud trial and accepted defeat to hide their negligence.
December 07, 2023
Credit Agency's Data Retention Breached GDPR, ECJ Rules

The European Union's General Court ruled on Thursday that automatic credit scores calculating a person's likelihood of being able to repay a loan are profiling, and are contrary to the bloc's General Data Protection Regulation.
December 07, 2023
Carter-Ruck Faces SRA Complaint From Ex-MP Over Libel Suit

A former Member of Parliament said Thursday that she will refer Carter-Ruck to the Solicitors Regulation Authority for alleged harassment, bullying and intimidation during a failed libel claim brought by a client who is a donor to the Conservative Party.
December 07, 2023
Transneft Hit With Injunction After $14B Conspiracy Claim

A London court slapped PJSC Transneft, the world's largest oil pipeline company, with an injunction linked to a jailed Russian oligarch's $13.8 billion claim alleging his business empire was unlawfully seized in a sprawling conspiracy led by the Russian state.
December 07, 2023
BHP-Vale Dam Collapse Talks With Brazil Break Down

Brazilian authorities have said settlement talks over a dam that burst in 2015 and triggered the country's worst environmental disaster have been suspended after mining giants BHP Group and Vale SA refused to present a new financial proposal.
December 07, 2023
Financial Watchdogs Eye Boost To Oversight Of Outsourcing

Britain's financial watchdogs put forward proposals on Thursday to tighten the oversight of so-called critical third parties, saying the new framework would ensure companies that perform outsourced services for businesses in the sector are properly regulated.
December 07, 2023
Ex-Morgan Stanley Exec Loses Early Bid To Reinstate Pay

A former Morgan Stanley executive who alleges she was fired because she blew the whistle on market manipulation has had her claim for her pay to be reinstated as her case progresses rejected by a tribunal.
December 07, 2023
Robert Courts Appointed As New UK Solicitor General

Barrister Robert Courts has been appointed as the new solicitor general after his predecessor was tapped to become illegal migration minister in a reshuffle prompted by the resignation of Robert Jenrick over the government's Rwanda deportation plan.
December 06, 2023
Metals Mogul Fights To Lift Trafigura Fraud Asset Freeze

Metals magnate Prateek Gupta on Wednesday sought to overturn a freezing order imposed on his assets in a wide-ranging $600 million fraud claim from Trafigura, saying that the commodity trader had not disclosed documents that he alleges show its traders were involved.
December 06, 2023
Audit Watchdog Discloses Upcoming Supervisory Focal Areas

Britain's accounting watchdog on Wednesday said climate risk and some specific industries will be among its regulatory priorities in the financial year beginning April, with a focus on compliance with corporate reporting and audit quality inspections.
December 06, 2023
Competition Court OKs First UK Class Action Settlement

Britain's antitrust court approved on Wednesday a £1.5 million ($1.9 million) settlement reached between members of a car delivery class action and a Chilean shipping company in a watershed moment for the U.K.'s collective actions regime.
December 06, 2023
SFO Whistleblower Says Saudi Bribes Were Widely Known

The compliance officer of an Airbus subsidiary told a whistleblower that corrupt payments to Saudi officials were known and accepted as a hard truth, telling him that "the world is not as beautiful as you would like it to be," jurors heard Wednesday.
December 06, 2023
Russia Acting To Avoid Sanctions, UK Finance Firms Warned

The National Crime Agency issued an alert to British financial firms on Wednesday that Russia is going through intermediary countries to gain access to goods and services despite sanctions imposed by the U.K. after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Expert Analysis

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.
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.
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.
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.
Extradition Ruling Hints At Ways Around High Burden Of Proof

The U.K. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Popoviciu v. Curtea De Apel Bucharest confirmed that, in a conviction extradition case, the requested person must establish a flagrant violation of their right to a fair trial, but the court's reasoning reveals creative opportunities to test this boundary in the U.K. and Strasbourg alike, says Rebecca Hughes at Corker Binning.
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.
Why Law Firms Should Heed Calls To Put ESG Over Profit

According to Deloitte’s recent survey, the majority of Gen Z and millennials remain unimpressed with businesses’ societal impact, and junior lawyers in particular are increasingly expecting the legal profession to shift to a business model that prioritizes sustainability above profitability, says Dana Denis-Smith at Obelisk Support.
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.
What Prince Harry Privacy Case May Mean For Media Ethics

An English High Court recently allowed the privacy case brought by Prince Harry and six other claimants against the Daily Mail publisher to proceed, which, if successful, could embolden other high-profile individuals to bring claims and lead to renewed calls for a judicial public inquiry into British press ethics, says Philippa Dempster at Freeths.
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.
How European Authorities Are Foiling Anti-Competitive Hiring

Lawyers at Squire Patton discuss key labor practice antitrust concerns and notable regulation trends in several European countries following recent enforcement actions brought by the European Commission and U.K. Competition and Markets Authority.
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.
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.
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.
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.