Corporate Crime & Compliance UK

Wider FCA Misconduct Rule Risks Over-Reporting Of Staff

The rule change proposed by the Financial Conduct Authority on non-financial misconduct for 37,000 companies outside the banking sector will generate pressure on businesses to protectively report employees to the regulator rather than risk later accusations of noncompliance.

FCA's New Enforcement Regime Threatens Firms, Individuals

The Financial Conduct Authority could damage the reputations of businesses and individuals under investigation in cases that it publicizes anonymously as an unintended consequence of a new enforcement policy, lawyers have warned.

Jes Staley at the Rolls Building in London

How Staley's Legal Bid To Save His Reputation Backfired

Former Barclays boss James "Jes" Staley's bid to salvage his reputation has backfired in the face of a London tribunal's findings he "lacked credibility" due to the "overwhelming" evidence of his close relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

AI-Driven Fake Evidence Could 'Play Havoc' In Legal Disputes

A recent High Court judgment exposed how nonexistent artificial intelligence-generated citations had been used in legal arguments — but experts say this could be the tip of the iceberg for increasingly sophisticated fake evidence making its way into disputes.

July 04, 2025
Ankle Tag Investors Deny £320M Conspiracy With Sacked CEO

Investors in a company which makes ankle tags have denied a £320 million ($437 million) claim that they conspired with the business's ousted chief executive to unlawfully profit from share sales.
July 04, 2025
Pair Get 12 Years In Prison For £1.5M Crypto-Investment Fraud

A London judge sentenced two men convicted of fraud to almost 12 years imprisonment on Friday for their involvement in a £1.5 million ($1.9 million) crypto-investment scam that spanned more than two years.
July 04, 2025
Sheikh Must Pay Brothers $240M Each In Inheritance Fight

The son of an Emirati royal accused of embezzling more than $1 billion from his dead father must give two of his brothers approximately $240 million each for their shares in their father's estate, a London court ruled on Friday.
July 03, 2025
Fraud Review Finds Early Interest In Whistleblowers

There is "growing interest" in enlisting whistleblowers to help investigators crack fraud cases following extensive talks with law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges and defense lawyers, according to a barrister reviewing the controversial topic for the government.
July 03, 2025
EU Regulators Close Ranks To Fight Money Laundering

Europe's financial regulators said on Thursday they would work with the bloc's new central anti-money laundering watchdog to ensure the effective exchange of information to combat white-collar crime.
July 03, 2025
Ex-Solicitor Admits Defrauding Clients Out Of £137K

A former solicitor and part-time judge admitted at a London criminal court on Thursday that he defrauded and stole from more than a dozen clients by appropriating at least £137,000 ($187,000) in payments to himself.
July 03, 2025
Man Denies FCA £3.9M Water Investment Fraud Charges

A man denied that he took part in a £3.9 million ($5.3 million) water investment scam when he appeared at a criminal court in London on Thursday.
July 03, 2025
Ex-Pensions Ombudsman Urges Gov't To Sustain Funding

The former head of the Pensions Ombudsman has praised the work of an anti-fraud unit established four years ago after it emerged that the government was pulling funding for the service.
July 03, 2025
Ex-Perfume Boss Can't Ax Claim Over Russia Sales

A London judge refused Thursday to throw out a claim that accused the former boss of a luxury perfume group of damaging the reputation of his business after he admitted to exporting high-value products to Russia.
July 03, 2025
CPS Nixes Claim From Law Grad Turned Serial Litigant

A tribunal has thrown out a discrimination claim against the Crown Prosecution Service brought by a law graduate whose persistent legal action recently led a London judge to ban him from making further claims.
July 02, 2025
Oil Biz Seeks To Toss Ex-Directors' Sanctions Breach Defense

A Singaporean oil company urged a judge Wednesday to throw out allegations that it breached U.S. sanctions on Iran made by its alleged former chief executive, whom it has accused of embezzling €143.8 million ($169.2 million).
July 02, 2025
EU Finance Watchdog Sets Guidelines To Avoid Greenwashing

European financial services businesses must ensure any claims they make about the sustainability of their financial products or services are accurate, accessible, substantiated and up to date, according to guidance from the bloc's financial watchdog.
July 02, 2025
Hotel Operator Says Ex-Director Stole £800K After Fire Payout

A hotel operator has alleged that its former director gained unauthorized access to its bank account three years after his resignation and stole almost £800,000 ($1.1 million) after an insurance payout for a fire that destroyed the building.
July 02, 2025
CCRC Chief Resigns Amid Criticism Over Justice Failures

The head of the body that investigates miscarriages of justice has resigned after 12 years following criticism over damning findings about the mishandling of historic convictions.
July 02, 2025
FCA Extends Bullying, Harassment Misconduct Across Sector

The Financial Conduct Authority released new rules on Wednesday that extend its regulatory powers to cover "toxic" workplace behavior such as bullying and harassment to non-banking firms.
July 02, 2025
Paralegal Wins £46K After Quitting To Avoid SRA Rules Breach

A paralegal has won more than £45,000 ($61,000) after a tribunal ruled he was unfairly dismissed by a London law firm, following months in which he felt pressured to work under the supervision of a solicitor banned by the profession's regulator.
July 01, 2025
Creditors Accuse Shipping Biz Of Trying To Evade $309M Debt

The Norwegian government and three finance companies have sued two Guernsey-based companies and a shipping businessman in a London court, accusing them of fraudulently transferring real estate assets to evade liability for loan defaults.
July 01, 2025
Bank Of Ireland Denies £60M Property Loan Fraud Claim

Bank of Ireland has denied a £60 million ($83 million) claim that it deceived a real estate investment business into borrowing millions of pounds by giving inflated property evaluations and said the borrower would have taken out the loan anyway because it was such a generous financial package.
July 01, 2025
HMRC Can Collect Tax In Disputed Avoidance Schemes

A London court ruled that HM Revenue & Customs can collect disputed income tax owed by a group of companies that took part in tax avoidance schemes, even though the authority previously promised to postpone the requests until the disputes were settled.
July 01, 2025
FCA Can Drop £6M Fine In Cum-Ex Case After Danish Pleas

The Financial Conduct Authority can reverse its decision to fine a cum-ex trader £5.9 million ($8.1 million) to avoid prejudicing Denmark's attempts to claw back the proceeds from an alleged sham trading scheme, a London tribunal has ruled.
July 01, 2025
Traders Banned And Fined For 'Spoofing' Market Manipulation

A London tribunal has approved fines and bans for three traders totaling £381,000 ($523,000) for market abuse after upholding claims from the Financial Conduct Authority that they dishonestly placed bogus bond orders to manipulate the market.
July 01, 2025
3 Ex-Officials At Letby Hospital Arrested In Baby Deaths Probe

Three former senior officials at the hospital where convicted child murderer Lucy Letby worked have been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter, police said Tuesday.
July 01, 2025
Barclays Car Finance Appeal Must Wait For Top Court Ruling

Barclays' bid to overturn a ruling by the Financial Ombudsman on motor finance commissions was delayed on Tuesday, as the Court of Appeal adjourned the case to await a high-stakes judgment from the U.K. Supreme Court.
July 01, 2025
British-Russian Man Charged With Paying Bitcoin To Militia

A British-Russian national alleged to have funded pro-Russian militia groups in occupied eastern Ukraine through bitcoin payments made his first appearance at a London court on Tuesday accused of breaching the U.K. sanctions regime.
June 30, 2025
UK Supreme Court Denies Russia Immunity In $63B Yukos Case

Russia has been denied permission to challenge an appellate court ruling in Britain dismissing its attempt to use state immunity to block former investors in Yukos Oil Co. from enforcing more than $63 billion in arbitral awards they won nearly 11 years ago, the investors said Monday.

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

Anticipating A Shift In CMA Merger Control Enforcement

As the Competition and Markets Authority outlines plans to put the U.K. government's growth objectives into action, the changes may well pave the way for a more permissive outlook for review of mergers and acquisitions in the U.K., say lawyers at A&O Shearman.
Court Backing Of FCA Pensions Ruling Sends Key Message

The Upper Tribunal’s recent upholding of the Financial Conduct Authority's decisions against CFP Management directors serves as a judicial endorsement of the regulator’s approach to defined benefit transfers, underscoring that where the advisory model is fundamentally flawed, the consequences for those in control can be severe, say lawyers at RPC.
What To Note As UK Adopts OECD Crypto Disclosure Rules

With the U.K.’s recent announcement that it will adopt the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's crypto-asset reporting framework, users and providers will benefit from understanding the context surrounding the decision and the framework's intended goal of clamping down on tax evasion, say lawyers at Brown Rudnick.
Why UK Sanctions Review Recommendations Lack Substance

The recent U.K. cross-government sanctions enforcement review makes welcome but unambitious recommendations, and without increasing funding for sanctions agencies or developing a whistleblower incentivization scheme, it is unlikely to result in tangible support for the sectors that most need it, say lawyers at WilmerHale.
How UK Law Firms Can Counter Money Laundering Threat

With figures released in May showing that money laundering was the biggest source of fraud in the U.K. last year, law firms should focus on internal identification and prevention strategies, considering the scale and nature of potential risk exposure depends on several business factors, says Niall Hearty at Rahman Ravelli.
Key Takeaways As EU And UK Impose New Russia Sanctions

The European Union and U.K.’s new sanctions on Russia, designating increasing numbers of non-Russian companies in the defense and shipping sectors, mean that organizations must examine from the outset whether a transaction has any nexus with the EU or the U.K., say lawyers at Sullivan & Cromwell.
8 Ways Law Firms Can Prepare For SRA's AML Offensive

The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s recent plans to intensify anti-money laundering enforcement means firms need to concentrate on strengthening client matter risk assessments, policies and procedures, source of funds checks and firmwide risk assessments, says Harriet Holmes at Thirdfort.
How Unfair Practice Rules Boost Consumer Protections

With the consumer protection aspects of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act now in force, companies must not only ensure their business is not engaged in prohibited practices, but also consider how consumers make decisions to acquire goods and services, say lawyers at Linklaters.
Fraud Office Guidance Highlights Value Of Self-Reporting

New guidance from the U.K.'s Serious Fraud Office on corporate self-reporting, cooperation and deferred prosecution agreements provides a useful framework for companies navigating criminal investigations and their potential resolutions — and underscores that corporations that self-report are in a better position to obtain DPAs than those that do not, say lawyers at Skadden.
Answering Key Questions About 2 EU Cybersecurity Laws

As companies work to implement two nascent European Union cybersecurity measures, the Digital Operational Resilience Act and the second Network and Information Security Directive, lawyers at MoFo address nine conceptual questions emerging around their interpretation and compliance obligations.
Industry Input Is Key As EU Weighs New Tariffs On US Trade

The European Commission’s ongoing consultation, which seeks feedback on a proposed expansion of products subject to tariffs and restrictions in retaliation to U.S. tariffs, opens an important opportunity for industry stakeholders to highlight why a scope exclusion is warranted, say lawyers at Crowell & Moring.
What End of Payment Systems Regulator Means For Biz

The U.K. government’s plan to abolish the Payment Systems Regulator and absorb its functions into the Financial Conduct Authority should eventually lighten the compliance burden for businesses under the PSR’s remit, which may in turn encourage growth, but the proposed changes will roll out slowly, say lawyers at Farrer & Co.
Compliance Lessons From Art Dealer's Terror Financing Plea

Regulated businesses can learn from the missteps of a recently convicted London art dealer, who failed to disclose sales to a suspected Hezbollah financier, by implementing compliance measures like anti-terrorism financing screenings as robust as their anti-money laundering policies and training staff to spot red flags, say lawyers at White & Case.
UK Capital Reforms May Help Startup Founders, VC Investors

Hidden in the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority's recent proposals on the definition of capital for investment firms are changes to the eligibility requirements for instruments to be included in a firm's regulatory capital — changes that may reduce the risk of investing, especially in early-stage fintech firms, says Andrew Henderson at Goodwin.
EU Watchdog's ESG Dashboard Raises Transparency Bar

The European Banking Authority’s recently introduced ESG dashboard is a key tool in aligning financial institutions with the European Union's sustainability policies, and fundamentally alters the risk environment by transitioning climate-related data from a compliance afterthought to a core component of strategic decision-making, says Kristýna Tupá at Schönherr.