Corporate Crime & Compliance UK

The crest on the building of a crown court in Southwark.

SFO Gears Up For Fight Over Ex-Petrobras Exec Cash Seizure

The Serious Fraud Office will fight on Monday to hold on to its largest-ever seizure of cash as part of the first-ever legal challenge contesting the agency's powers to confiscate allegedly tainted money.

Image of the High Court in London, taken from below.

Litigation Conduct Ruling Sparks 'Major Fear' For Lawyers

A recent High Court decision that unqualified employees of law firms are prohibited from conducting litigation has caused "major fear" among lawyers and created uncertainty about firms' profitability, the training of new talent, access to justice and even the use of artificial intelligence in legal practice.

Carter-Ruck Pro Tried To Stifle OneCoin Critics, SRA Says

A Carter-Ruck partner threatened to sue whistleblowers exposing the multibillion-dollar OneCoin crypto-scam to send "a strong PR message" and stifle criticism, according to recently disclosed court documents detailing a decision by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to prosecute her.

HSBC Using AI To Fight Fraud Under 'Failure To Prevent' Law

HSBC has emerged as one of the first banks to confirm it is harnessing artificial intelligence under the new "failure to prevent fraud" offense that targets companies benefiting from fraud committed by employees.

September 30, 2025
Credit Suisse Aided Looting Of Tech Exec's Stock, Suit Says

The co-founder of sensing-tech company Aeva Technologies says Credit Suisse provided "institutional cover" to conspirators who stole tens of millions of dollars in Aeva shares from him in what he described as a "calculated, multi-year orchestrated racketeering scheme," according to a suit filed Tuesday in New York federal court.
September 30, 2025
Data Biz Exec Denies Helping To Hide Property Mogul Assets

A data center executive has denied conspiring to hide assets belonging to property mogul Andrew Ruhan from the liquidators of a hotel company, telling a London court that Ruhan's employment at his company was not a sham.
September 30, 2025
Pharma Supplier Hit With Fine For Russian Sanctions Breach

Britain's sanctions watchdog revealed on Tuesday that it has fined a subsidiary of global pharmaceutical supplier Colorcon Inc. £152,750 ($206,000) for breaching sanctions against Russia by paying thousands of pounds to employees in Moscow.
September 30, 2025
Briton Who Beat Extradition To Be Sentenced For Crypto-Theft

A London criminal court told a British man Tuesday that he will be sentenced in December for stealing millions of pounds worth of cryptocurrency, more than two years after he avoided extradition to the U.S.
September 30, 2025
FCA Staffer Axed For Harassment Loses Fair Trial Appeal

A London appeals judge rejected an argument on Tuesday from a former employee of the Financial Conduct Authority that an earlier tribunal had denied him a fair trial in his unfair dismissal claim against the watchdog.
September 30, 2025
Ex-Havilland CEO Knew Of Qatar Currency Plot, FCA Says

The former chief executive of Banque Havilland's U.K. branch must have known about the content of a presentation outlining a plan to devalue Qatar's currency, the Financial Conduct Authority told the closing stages of an appeal hearing at a tribunal Tuesday.
September 30, 2025
Fixer Admits Money Laundering In £5B Crypto-Fraud Case

A fixer for a Chinese woman who fled her country amid allegations of fraud admitted at a London court Tuesday to laundering cryptocurrency on her behalf, after police said they had seized £5.5 billion ($7.4 billion) in virtual currency in its investigation into the case.
September 30, 2025
Ex-Law Firm Paralegal Barred After £11K Theft From Clients

A former paralegal sentenced to prison for stealing more than £11,000 ($14,785) from two vulnerable clients has been banned by the solicitors' regulator.
September 30, 2025
New UK Task Force To Investigate COVID Loan Fraud

HM Treasury has unveiled plans for a new investigations team backed with £17.5 million ($23.5 million) of government funding that will have the power to issue "huge fines" to go after those who abused COVID-19 bounce back loans.
September 30, 2025
6 In 10 SMEs Hit By Cyberattack In 2025, Hiscox Says

Some 59% of small and midsized enterprises have said they experienced a cyberattack in the last year, Hiscox said Tuesday, highlighting the evolving threat posed by criminals adapting to new technologies to exploit businesses.
September 29, 2025
Woman Cops To Money Laundering In £5B Crypto-Fraud Case

A Chinese woman who fled her country amid allegations she defrauded 128,000 people pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in London on Monday as police said they seized a record £5.5 billion ($7.4 billion) in cryptocurrency.
September 29, 2025
SFO Denies $7.7M Seizure From Ex-Petrobras Exec Is Political

The Serious Fraud Office defended on Monday its $7.7 million seizure from a former Petrobras executive, telling a court that the case was rooted in evidence of corruption and not as a "catspaw" influenced by shifting political winds in Brazil.
September 29, 2025
EuroChem Can Appeal €212M Bond Ruling Over EU Sanctions

A London court granted EuroChem permission on Monday to appeal against a ruling that Société Générale and Dutch lender ING rightly refused to pay out on €212 million ($249 million) worth of bonds to the agricultural chemicals company's Russian subsidiary.
September 29, 2025
EU Council Reinstates Sanctions Over Iran's Nuclear Activities

The European Union said on Monday that it will reimpose sanctions on Iran, following the lead of the United Nations, which brought back restrictions over concerns that the Middle Eastern country had breached a commitment to halt its nuclear weapons development.
September 29, 2025
Most Investors Fear Greenwashing In ESG Investments

A financial services trade body said Monday it has discovered that most private investors are concerned about greenwashing in investments and even more prioritize performance over sustainability.
September 29, 2025
Facebook Users Bid To Expand £2.3B Data Claim Against Meta

A class representative for millions of U.K. consumers sought on Monday to expand a £2.3 billion ($3.1 billion) case against Meta for allegedly exploiting their data by adding a new category of damages over what Facebook should have paid for their personal information.
September 29, 2025
Demoted SFO Investigator Was Not Team Player, Boss Claims

A Serious Fraud Office manager told a London tribunal on Monday that he recommended against renewing a senior investigator's temporary promotion because he was not a team player, not because the investigator voiced concerns about being told not to criticize cases.
September 26, 2025
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen Sanjeev Gupta’s Liberty OneSteel sue its collapsed former lender Greensill Capital, television personality Janice Dickinson hit ITV with a personal injury claim after falling over while appearing on “I’m a Celeb …”, and energy investor Blasket bring fresh litigation against Spain amid a row over a $416 million arbitration award. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
September 26, 2025
UK-Bermuda Target Sanctions Evasion With £300K New Funds

The U.K.'s minister of state for the overseas territories has pledged up to £300,000 ($402,000) this financial year to bolster the sanctions capacity of Bermuda, a self-governing territory that has so far frozen over $200 million in assets.
September 26, 2025
SFO Fights To Secure £1M From Solicitor Convicted Of Fraud

A former solicitor serving a 14-year prison sentence for siphoning off investors' money through a fraudulent offshore "get-rich-quick" legal aid scheme is potentially facing a further five-year sentence for failing to pay back over £1 million ($1.3 million) to victims, court heard Friday.
September 26, 2025
Digital ID Plan Welcome But 'Unlikely' To Curb Illegal Work

Lawyers questioned on Friday whether the U.K. government's plan to introduce a digital identification scheme to combat illegal working will make much of a difference — but a leading business group has said the proposal could simplify hiring and prevent fraud.
September 26, 2025
Ex-Reform UK Wales Head Cops To Russia Bribery Charges

The former leader of Reform UK in Wales pleaded guilty to bribery charges at a London court on Friday over allegations that he received corrupt payments in exchange for supporting Russian causes in speeches when he was a member of the European Parliament.
September 25, 2025
Big Banks Beat Yearslong Libor-Rigging Claims In NY

A New York federal judge Thursday disposed of the remaining claims in long-running multidistrict litigation accusing Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and more than a dozen other large banks of Libor manipulation.
September 25, 2025
European Commission Probing SAP Over Software Support

European enforcers have opened an investigation into concerns that German software giant SAP restricts the market for maintenance and support services for the company's business management software.
September 25, 2025
Ruhan Fights Allegations Of Fraud In Hotel Liquidation Case

Property mogul Andrew Ruhan has hit back against a claim made by the liquidators of a hotel company, arguing that he never conspired with a long-time friend to keep his assets out of the hands of creditors.

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

FCA's Woodford Fine Sends Warning To Fund Managers

The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent decisions concerning Neil Woodford and the collapse of Woodford Investment Management mark an important moment for the U.K. investment industry, underscoring the regulator's focus on senior managers' personal accountability and the importance of putting investors’ interests at the heart of decision-making, say lawyers at Irwin Mitchell.
How Data Use Act Tightens Complaint Handling Procedures

Recently effective Data Use Act procedural requirements are coinciding with an artificial intelligence-driven increase in complaints from users about data subject access request responses, so organizations need to formalize their grievance process to prevent intervention by the Information Commissioner's Office and potential penalties, say lawyers at Womble Bond.
UK Supreme Court Dissent May Spark Sanctions Debate

While the recent U.K. Supreme Court's rejection of Eugene Shvidler’s appeal determined that sanctions decisions are primarily the government’s preserve, Justice Leggatt’s dissenting view that judges are better placed to assess proportionality will cause ripples and may mark a material shift in how future appeals are approached, say lawyers at Seladore.
What EBA Report Means For Non-EU Financial Firms

In a recent report concerning unregulated third country banks, the European Banking Authority decided not to extend a bank-to-bank exemption under the Capital Requirements Directive, raising a number of compliance issues for cross-border services, say lawyers at A&O Shearman.
HMRC's Automation Shift Likely To Alter Tax Adviser Role

HM Revenue & Customs’ recently released digital transformation road map promises greater efficiency and a modernized compliance regime, but the increased automation could also mean that the tax adviser role will become more proactive and more defensive, say lawyers at RPC.
What UK's New Prosecution Guidance Means For Compliance

Recent guidance from the U.K.'s Serious Fraud Office and Crown Prosecution Service, aligning their approach with the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, offers a timely prompt for corporate boards and legal teams to update their risk management frameworks, say lawyers at Signature Litigation.
Viral Comms Crises Create Dual Corp. Governance Threats

As legislative hearings increase in frequency and social media fuels their reputational impact, corporate legal teams face a new dual challenge that reflects a fundamental shift in accountability and demands new strategies, governance frameworks and organizational capabilities, says Joanna Ludlam at Jenner & Block.
How AI May Have Made A Difference In Monzo Bank Breaches

Artificial intelligence tools have the capabilities needed to keep pace with increasingly sophisticated threats, and such tools might have helped prevent the anti-money laundering failures that led to the recent £21.1 million fine against Monzo Bank, says Alexander Vilardo at Howard Kennedy.
A Softer Tack For Online Ads Marks Next Step In Data Reform

While the initiative of the U.K. Information Commissioner's Office to relax enforcement of advertising cookie consent represents a welcome attempt to balance privacy protection and commercial realities, several questions remain that will limit companies' ability to benefit from the U.K. proposals, say lawyers at Skadden.
CMA App Store Mandates Fall Short Of Regulatory Ambitions

The Competition and Markets Authority's recent proposals to loosen Google and Apple’s mobile platform duopoly are a far cry from the assertive and wide-reaching interventions that advocates of the Digital Markets Unit had hoped to see from the new competition regulator, says Ronan Scanlan at Steptoe.
Catching Up On Simplified EU Sustainability Disclosure Rules

A recent proposal to streamline implementation of the EU’s Taxonomy Regulation contains measures that would reduce companies’ sustainable investment reporting and compliance requirements, and better support the EU’s climate and environmental goals, say lawyers at Proskauer.
Cos. Must Take Action As Corporate Enforcement Evolves

The Serious Fraud Office's renewed vigor toward proactive corporate enforcement, as evidenced by its recently affirmed commitment to collaboration with the U.S. on cross-border investigations, means that organizations must solidify their antibribery and corruption frameworks to remain ahead of fast-moving regulatory and legislative initiatives, say lawyers at Weil.
UK Reforms Investment Rules, But Clarity Concerns Remain

The U.K. government’s recent reforms to the National Security and Investment Act 2021 demonstrate a continuing pragmatic approach by requiring fewer deal filings, but the regime would benefit from more clarity in key areas, say lawyers at McDermott.
Fraud Law Puts Fund Managers Under Compliance Spotlight

The new failure to prevent fraud offense, effective Sept. 1, may not represent a material departure from most managers’ duties to exercise due care in preventing loss to the assets they manage, but the prospect of criminal liability should sharpen their compliance focus, says Andrew Henderson at Goodwin Procter.
CMA Pricing Guide Signals Shift In UK Consumer Protection

The Competition and Markets Authority’s recent draft price transparency guide, as part of a wider reform introduced by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, represents a significant change in U.K. consumer protection by targeting unfair trading practices and strengthening enforcement mechanisms, says Felicity Forward at Shoosmiths.