Ex-SFO Chief Defends DPAs Despite Lack Of Convictions
Britain's former top fraud investigator has defended the Serious Fraud Office's use of deferred prosecution agreements to fine companies for criminal behavior, saying on Thursday that criticism of the U.S.-style settlements is unjustified despite the agency's continued failure to secure convictions.
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The Serious Fraud Office intends to strengthen its "brand and image" following a "tough year," which included a series of high-profile failures and criticism over its light caseload, the white collar agency said on Thursday.
The government has introduced legislation to Parliament that will allow it to pay out approximately £120 million ($170 million) in compensation to investors in London Capital & Finance PLC, the minibond issuer that left 12,000 people out of pocket when it collapsed.
Company directors who wind up their businesses to avoid repaying state-backed loans issued during the COVID-19 pandemic and other debts face being banned under draft legislation.
A subsidiary of Dubai's Rasmala Investment Bank has sued a major commodities trader in London for fraud, accusing the Singapore-based company of deceiving it into providing $20 million to pay off debts.
Digital currency group Diem Association, which is backed by Facebook, has withdrawn its application for authorization in Switzerland as a blockchain-based payment system to allow it to focus on the U.S., the Swiss financial watchdog has said.
An appeals court has tossed Facebook's challenge to restrictions imposed by U.K. antitrust enforcers as they investigate its purchase of Giphy Inc., saying on Thursday that the continuing restraints are a problem of the tech giant's own making
Amazon is off the hook for a £250 million ($301 million) tax bill after Europe's second highest court declared Wednesday that the online retailer's tax deal with Luxembourg didn't constitute an illegal loophole.
The Financial Conduct Authority told MPs on Wednesday that it plans to review a regime that allowed collapsed Greensill Capital to provide investment services to U.K. investors without itself being regulated.
A judge ordered a British tabloid on Wednesday to pay Meghan Markle's legal costs for challenging her copyright claim, saying the publisher had "refused to face up" to evidence that she was the sole author of a letter to her father that it published without her permission.
A London court dismissed on Wednesday part of a challenge brought by a club of insurers against the recognition of a Spanish ruling holding it liable for up to $1 billion for a devastating oil spill, tossing the underwriters' human rights arguments.