Corporate Crime & Compliance UK

  • April 25, 2024

    EU Parliament Gives Final Approval To AML Package

    The European Parliament has given the final go-ahead to a package of laws to fight money laundering and terrorist financing, creating a single rule book and establishing a dedicated agency for the bloc.

  • April 24, 2024

    Ex-Autonomy GC Tells Jurors He Wanted To Be 'Helpful' To HP

    Autonomy's former U.S. general counsel conceded Wednesday in the criminal trial of former CEO Michael Lynch that he told an HP lawyer he wanted to be as "helpful" as possible to the company as it was investigating Autonomy-related issues that popped up after the Silicon Valley giant purchased the British company, and that he was told he could face liability for his work at Autonomy.

  • April 24, 2024

    Chicago Museum Accuses New York DA Of Art Seizure Overreach

    The Art Institute of Chicago has urged a New York criminal court to give back an Egon Schiele drawing seized by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, saying the artwork was never looted by Nazis and prosecutors have no business litigating a civil ownership dispute.

  • April 24, 2024

    Oligarch's Family Can't Nix €1.5B Bankruptcy Bid

    The widow and a daughter of the late Russian cement oligarch Oleg Bourlakov stumbled in their global legal battle with relatives over his fortune after a London judge declined to stop €1.48 billion ($1.59 billion) bankruptcy proceedings in St. Petersburg.

  • April 24, 2024

    Post Office GC Didn't Know To Disclose Witness Misled Court

    As he gave evidence to an inquiry Wednesday, the Post Office's former general counsel said external law firm Cartwright King didn't tell him that the fact that an expert witness lied to the court when testifying against subpostmasters needed to be disclosed.

  • April 24, 2024

    Feds Nab Latest OneCoin Plea On $35M Laundering Charge

    An eighth defendant has been charged by federal prosecutors over the global OneCoin cryptocurrency scam and has pled guilty to laundering about $35 million in illicit proceeds through bank accounts he controlled in China and Hong Kong.

  • April 24, 2024

    Fund Manager Denies Losing Jailed Politician's Wife £8M

    A fund manager has denied transferring €28 million ($30 million) from the account of an imprisoned Turkish politician's wife without her permission, claiming she gave written instructions to invest the money in emerging markets.

  • April 24, 2024

    Ex-England Footballer Banned As Director For Unpaid Tax

    Former England football international John Barnes has been banned from being a company director after his business failed to pay more than £190,000 ($236,000) in tax, a U.K. government agency announced on Wednesday.

  • April 24, 2024

    Boris Becker Settles With Creditors Over Missing Trophies

    Boris Becker's creditors have agreed not to chase the multiple Grand Slam tennis champion over the missing trophies he was accused of hiding to dodge paying debts, lawyers for the Wimbledon winner and bankruptcy trustees told a London court Wednesday.

  • April 24, 2024

    Ex-Law Firm Partner Fails To Toss SRA Dishonesty Allegation

    A former equity partner in a real estate conveyancing firm failed on Wednesday to have a tribunal prevent the Solicitors Regulation Authority from accusing him of dishonesty, as it ruled that an offer by the watchdog to settle did not mean he should not have expected the allegation.

  • April 24, 2024

    EU Keeps Gibraltar, Panama, UAE On AML Blacklist

    Gibraltar, Panama and the United Arab Emirates should remain on the European Union's blacklist of high-risk countries for money laundering, the European Parliament said, stopping the EU from following the lead of a global organization promoting standards for countries to fight those crimes.

  • April 24, 2024

    SFO Admits Deleting Osofsky's Phone Amid ENRC Leaks Row

    The Serious Fraud Office acknowledged on Wednesday that it "inappropriately" erased the mobile phone of its former director, Lisa Osofsky, during litigation over alleged leaks in what mining giant ENRC told a London court was a "flagrant breach" of its disclosure obligations.

  • April 24, 2024

    EU Says 3 States Aren't Correctly Following AML Law

    The European Commission said Wednesday that three European Union countries — Ireland, France and Latvia — aren't correctly implementing the bloc's laws against money laundering, meaning that the countries now have two months to correct the shortcomings.

  • April 24, 2024

    Disclosure Review Calls For Early Talks To Speed Cases

    Early talks between prosecutors and defendants could ease the pressures of disclosure in complex economic crime cases where the large volume of online evidence creates a risk that suspects will be denied a fair trial, a government-backed review advised Wednesday.

  • April 24, 2024

    IP Firm Can't Take Bid To Block Clients' Case To Top Court

    Britain's highest court has rejected a final attempt by Marks & Clerk LLP to block thousands of former clients from bringing a bribery class action over alleged secret commission payments, ruling that the law firm did not put forward any arguable legal challenges that justified an appeal.

  • April 23, 2024

    Ex-Autonomy Tech Exec Doubted 'Bizarre' $6M Deal, Jury Told

    Autonomy's ex-chief technology officer testified Tuesday in the California federal fraud trial of former CEO Michael Lynch that he had concerns about Autonomy's "bizarre" 2010 deal to sell $6 million in repackaged hardware, which prosecutors allege was never delivered and was only used to artificially inflate Autonomy's revenues.

  • April 23, 2024

    Post Office GC Felt 'Scapegoated' Over Horizon Review

    The Post Office's former general counsel felt "scapegoated" over the conclusions of an independent report she commissioned into the IT system used to prosecute hundreds of innocent people, she told the inquiry into the scandal Tuesday.

  • April 23, 2024

    RGL Confirms Woodford Claim Against Hargreaves Lansdown

    RGL Group confirmed Tuesday it is pursuing a fresh claim against investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown over the collapse of Woodford Equity Investment Fund.

  • April 23, 2024

    UK Shuts Business For Fraudulent Timeshare Exit Claims

    The U.K. government said Tuesday that it has shut down an unregulated timeshare exit company after finding that it was "misleading hundreds of clients" by offering them help with complications in their timeshare contracts.

  • April 23, 2024

    Ex-Law Firm Partner Fights SRA's Dishonesty Accusation

    A former partner at a conveyancing firm urged a London tribunal on Tuesday to dismiss the Solicitors Regulation Authority's claim that he had acted dishonestly during a real estate transaction, arguing that the regulator abused the tribunal process.

  • April 23, 2024

    FCA To Return £530K To Investors From Deposit-Taking Scam

    The Financial Conduct Authority said Tuesday it will return £533,000 ($664,000) in recovered money to investors who were hit by a deposit scam run through two companies, including a soccer league operator.

  • April 23, 2024

    FCA Charges Man With Fraud In £2.7M Investment Scheme

    The Financial Conduct Authority said Tuesday that it had charged a British man with fraud after he hid "significant losses" from investors as part of a £2.67 million ($3.33 million) scheme trading on foreign exchange markets.

  • April 23, 2024

    Bank Of Ireland Used Deceit To Loan Millions, Investor Claims

    Bank of Ireland allegedly deceived a real estate investment business into borrowing millions from it by giving inflated property evaluations based on old estimates that were £1.2 million ($1.5 million) higher than up-to-date figures, according to a London court filing.

  • April 23, 2024

    FCA Clarifies Greenwashing Rule, Extends ESG regime

    The Financial Conduct Authority has published clarifying final guidance on its anti-greenwashing rule for all regulated firms, saying on Tuesday that it will also extend its broader sustainability regime to include portfolio managers.

  • April 23, 2024

    Top UK Court Blocks Gazprom Unit's Russian UniCredit Claim

    Britain's highest court upheld an injunction on Tuesday barring a Gazprom subsidiary from pursuing a €450 million ($480 million) claim against UniCredit Bank AG in Russia after the German lender withheld financing for the construction of gas processing plants because of sanctions.

Expert Analysis

  • Deal Over Jets Stranded In Russia May Serve As Blueprint

    Author Photo

    In the face of a pending "mega-trial" over leased airplanes held in Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, a settlement between leading aviation lessor AerCap Holdings NV and NSK, the Russian state-controlled insurance company, could pave the way for similar deals, say Samantha Zaozirny and Timeyin Pinnick at Browne Jacobson.

  • Economic Crime Act Brings Changes For Limited Partnerships

    Author Photo

    The recently passed Economic Crime Act introduces significant financial transparency obligations for new and existing U.K. limited partnerships, and with criminal consequences for noncompliance, a degree of advance consideration is strongly advised, say Amelia Stawpert and Alex Jones at Hogan Lovells.

  • Key Lessons From The SRA's 2023 AML Report

    Author Photo

    The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s recent anti-money laundering report conducted supervisory activities that revealed a variety of breaches, and with an increasingly regulated landscape, lawyers can play an important part in preventing criminal activity by taking responsibility for ensuring compliance, says Harriet Holmes at Thirdfort.

  • ESMA Report Offers A Glimpse At EU's Securitization Future

    Author Photo

    The European Securities and Markets Authority’s recent overview of the EU securitization sector suggests a growing market for both investors and businesses and offers useful insight into future regulatory priorities, says Alan Bunbury at Matheson.

  • Collapse-Risk Buildings Present Liability Challenges

    Author Photo

    Recently, buildings, such as Harrow Crown Court, have been closed due to risk of collapse from use of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in their construction, but identifying who will pay for the associated damages may be challenging due to expired limitation periods, say Theresa Mohammed, Jonathan Clarke and Villem Diederichs at Watson Farley.

  • How The Legal Sector Can Enhance Its Data Resilience

    Author Photo

    In view of the U.K. National Cyber Security Centre’s recent report shedding light on the legal sector’s increased vulnerability to cyberattacks, law firms need not only establish robust defenses, but also to redefine their approach to data security by fostering a culture of continuous learning, adaptability and vigilance, says Katie McCullough at Panzura.

  • Age Bias Cases Illustrate Key Employer Issues On Retirement

    Author Photo

    Recent Employment Tribunal cases demonstrate that age discrimination claims are increasingly on employees' radars, particularly regarding retirement, so employers should be proactive and review their current practices for managing older employees, say Jane Mann and Lucy Sellen at Fox Williams.

  • Why Indonesia Feels Frustrated By Airbus Dispute Outcome

    Author Photo

    Although the U.K. Serious Fraud Office’s Airbus bribery investigation achieved a record payout for regulators, Indonesia’s threat to sue for lack of credit for its contribution serves as a reminder of the need to take care when settlements are distributed among investigating partners, says Niall Hearty at Rahman Ravelli.

  • EU Tech Guidance Is First Step In Minimizing Security Risks

    Author Photo

    The European Commission's recent recommendation on critical technologies that likely pose immediate risks to technology security has prompted an evaluation of the European Union's vulnerabilities in these areas, which could have significant implications for businesses operating in and with the bloc, say lawyers at Cooley.

  • Key Shifts In EU, UK Emissions Credits: Challenges For Cos.

    Author Photo

    An upcoming deadline to apply for free carbon dioxide emissions allowances in the European Union, and a reduction in the supply of similar allowances in the U.K., are likely to increase competition for allowances, and cause production, supply chain and contract issues for companies, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • UAE Bank Case Offers Lessons On Enforcing Foreign Rulings

    Author Photo

    The High Court recently clarified in Invest Bank v. El-Husseini that foreign judgment debts may be enforceable in England, despite being unenforceable in their jurisdiction of origin, which should remind practitioners that foreign judgments will be recognized in England if they are final and conclusive in their court of origin, say lawyers at Macfarlanes.

  • Revised OECD Guidelines Key In Shaping Business Standards

    Author Photo

    The OECD’s recent revised guidelines on responsible business conduct, supported by a domestic government agencies’ grievance referral mechanism, have already influenced EU due diligence standards, and enterprises engaging in the unique procedure will benefit from case-specific nuances, parallel proceedings and the availability of confidentiality protections, say lawyers at Debevoise.

  • Takeaways From CMA's Grocery Sector Unit Pricing Report

    Author Photo

    The Competition and Markets Authority’s recently published report identifying grocery retailers' problematic and inconsistent behaviors in their use of unit pricing signals that retailers will want to take care to use all pricing structures in a clear and transparent way, and that the CMA's soft approach is ending and enforcement is becoming a costly reality, says Michael Cordeaux at Walker Morris.

  • Report Can Aid With Sustainable Finance Disclosure Filings

    Author Photo

    The European Supervisory Authorities recently issued a report on companies' consideration of the principal adverse impacts of their investment decisions on sustainability factors, providing examples of good and bad disclosure practices under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, which firms should note in their future reporting, say lawyers at Debevoise.

  • Protecting The Arbitral Process In Russia-Related Disputes

    Author Photo

    Four recent High Court and Court of Appeal rulings concerning anti-suit injunction claims illustrate that companies exposed to litigation risk in Russia may need to carefully consider how to best protect their interests and the arbitral process with regard to a Russian counterparty, say lawyers at Linklaters.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!