Corporate Crime & Compliance UK

Expert Analysis

• Opinion

  SFO Must Radically Overhaul Prosecution Approach

  

  The Serious Fraud Office's recent failure to convict three Barclays executives for fraud is the latest evidence that the agency's real issue is its tendency to seek prosecution without a realistic chance of conviction, says Bambos Tsiattalou at Stokoe.

• Aviation Watch: Airbus Gets Off Easy In Bribery Settlement

  

  The $4 billion settlement Airbus recently agreed to pay to the U.S., U.K. and France over foreign bribery charges is merely a cost of doing business for the aircraft manufacturer, and suggests that there is no effective deterrent to corruption when companies are too big to prosecute, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

• Conviction Toss Reinforces FCPA's Jurisdictional Constraints

  

  A Connecticut federal court's recent decision in Lawrence v. Hoskins, throwing out a foreign national's conviction for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations, is a potent reminder of the FCPA's limited reach and provides defense counsel with a powerful new precedent, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

• UK Group Data Breach Claims Pose Big Financial Risks

  

  Recent English court decisions appear to make it easier for data breach victims to bring collective actions, and consequently companies may find they are liable for huge sums in addition to fines under the General Data Protection Regulation, say attorneys at Morrison & Foerster.

• Corporate Self-Reporting Won't Guarantee SFO Leniency

  

  While self-reporting corporate crime can generally help U.K. companies get more lenient treatment from the Serious Fraud Office, two companies that were formally prosecuted nonetheless demonstrate that self-reporting should be backed by proper cooperation, reform and caution, says Azizur Rahman at Rahman Ravelli.

• Assessing Trump's Conditional Pardon Offer To Assange

  

  President Donald Trump's reported offer to pardon Julian Assange, if Assange denied that Russians hacked into the Democratic National Committee database, was constitutionally risky and highlights the danger of presidential power wielded for personal goals, says Harold Krent at Chicago-Kent College of Law.

• Legacy Contracts Complicate Libor Transition

  

  As firms prepare for Libor cessation by the end of next year, one of the more difficult challenges may be dealing with legacy contracts, which could cause significant market disruption and litigation if not successfully renegotiated, say Abdulali Jiwaji and Johnny Shearman at Signature Litigation.

• SFO Compliance Evaluation Guidance Is Insubstantial

  

  The Serious Fraud Office's new guidance explaining how it assesses companies' compliance programs is laudable, but does not provide enough solid advice, says Azizur Rahman of Rahman Ravelli.

• Rebuttal

  AI Can't Accurately Predict Case Length And Cost — Yet

  

  A recent Law360 guest article argued that artificial intelligence can precisely estimate the length and cost of a new case, but several limitations will likely delay truly accurate predictions for years to come, says Andrew Russell at Shaw Keller.

• What To Expect During The Brexit Transition Period

  

  While all formal ratification procedures for the U.K.'s departure from the European Union have been completed, the transitional period will bring an enormous range of trade, customs and regulatory issues, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

• UK 'Free Ports' May Heighten Risk Of Economic Crime

  

  It may be sensible for the U.K. to introduce free ports — government-designated areas of little or no tax — to boost trade with other countries, but they could also create opportunities for major financial crime, says Stephen Baker of Baker & Partners.

• UK Account Freezing Orders Have Quietly Made An Impact

  

  Account freezing orders, one of the enforcement powers introduced by the U.K.'s Criminal Finances Act, are not as well-known as unexplained wealth orders but have arguably been a more effective weapon against economic crime and will be increasingly deployed by enforcement agencies in the future, says Ross Dixon of Hickman & Rose.

• Why SFO Closed Its Libor Manipulation Investigation

  

  Despite ongoing civil claims, the Serious Fraud Office has most likely closed its investigation into Libor rate manipulation due to the comparative difficulty of securing criminal convictions, and is unlikely to bring further charges unless significant new evidence comes to light, says Anthony Hanratty of BDB Pitmans.

• What's Next For Ad-Tech After EU Data Privacy Investigation

  

  The European Commission's competition regulator has launched an investigation into Google's data collection practices, indicating a continued focus on the advertising technology sector amid growing public concerns over privacy, says Elizabeth Kilburn of Wedlake Bell.

• Surefire Marketing Methods To Build Your Legal Practice

  

  Attorneys who take the time and the risk to showcase their talents through speaking, writing and teaching will find that opportunities will begin building upon themselves, says Daniel Karon of Karon LLC.