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Corporate Crime & Compliance UK
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May 30, 2025
Thames Water Fine Signals Growing Enviro Risk For Business
The historical fine imposed on Thames Water for environmental failings and improper payments to shareholders is a novel use of new legal powers given to the waste and water regulator — and a warning about growing regulatory risks, lawyers say.
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May 30, 2025
British Businessman Appears In Court In Malawi Bribery Case
A British businessman appeared at a London criminal court Friday on charges that he sent corrupt payments to the former vice-president of Malawi, as well as its ex-solicitor general and other high-ranking officials.
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May 30, 2025
FCA Wins OK For £1M Fine On Pensions Transfer Pros
The finance watchdog said Friday that a tribunal has approved its decision to ban two financial advisers from working in financial services and impose approximately £1 million ($1.3 million) in fines over their pension transfers that put clients' retirement money at risk.
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May 30, 2025
Russell Brand Pleads Not Guilty To Rape, Sexual Assault
Actor and comedian Russell Brand has denied charges of rape, sexual assault and indecent assault at a London court Friday.
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May 29, 2025
Accountants Deny Negligence In Kebab Biz Share Deal Fraud
An accounting firm has denied negligently accepting a fraudulently signed share transfer form that a business director claims cost him his stake in a meat supplier of almost £2.5 million ($3.4 million), arguing that there was "nothing obviously suspicious" about the document.
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May 29, 2025
HSBC Denies Blame For £12M Transfers Tied To Alleged Fraud
HSBC has accused a corporate client of attempting to hold the bank liable for an alleged fraud committed by the company, denying that it failed to question and block more than £12 million ($16.1 million) in allegedly fraudulent account transfers.
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May 29, 2025
NCA Charges UK Businessman In Malawi Bribery Case
A British businessman was expected to appear at a London criminal court on charges that he sent corrupt payments to Malawi's former vice-president and figures including the country's ex-solicitor general, according to court lists that have now been made public.
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May 29, 2025
FCA To Update Regulatory Directions For UK Finance Firms
The Financial Conduct Authority said Thursday that it will amend and update approximately 11,000 legal requirements, obligations and restrictions for more than 9,000 financial firms in the U.K.
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May 29, 2025
SRA Ordered To Fix Failures After Axiom Ince Collapse
The Solicitors Regulation Authority must improve how it identifies risks to consumers and strengthen regulation of client money to avoid a repeat of failings in its handling of the collapse of Axiom Ince Ltd., the legal industry's oversight watchdog said Thursday.
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May 29, 2025
Ex-NCA Employee To Face Trial On Job Fraud Charges In 2027
A former official at the National Crime Agency denied fraud charges at a criminal court Thursday, which included allegations that he lied about being an analyst for a U.K. intelligence agency when he applied for a job at Britain's maritime security service.
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May 28, 2025
One Convicted For Role In €195M VAT Fraud Scheme
A Munich court convicted a man for his role in a value-added tax fraud scheme that spanned 17 countries and caused an estimated €195 million ($220 million) in damages, the European Public Prosecutor's Office said Wednesday.
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May 28, 2025
Online Scams Surge With £1B Stolen Through Fraud In 2024
Criminals stole £1.17 billion ($1.6 billion) through fraud in 2024, largely through a 22 percent rise in customers being duped into disclosing online login passcodes, banking body UK Finance revealed Wednesday.
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May 28, 2025
SFO Charges Airline Parts Boss With Fraud Over Fake Parts
The Serious Fraud Office charged the director of a company based in Britain with fraud on Wednesday, alleging that he had falsified documents for the sale of engine parts to major airlines around the world.
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May 28, 2025
Ex-Russian Politician Appeals UK's First Sanctions Conviction
A former Russian politician who became the first person to be found guilty of breaching the U.K.'s sanctions regime is challenging his conviction and sentence, his lawyer confirmed Wednesday.
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May 28, 2025
Social Media Giants Urged To Curb Unauthorized Finance Ads
The European Union's financial markets watchdog urged the world's major social media and online companies on Wednesday to stop promoting unauthorized financial services on their platforms.
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May 28, 2025
New FCA Crypto Rules Focus On Stablecoin Value, Security
The Financial Conduct Authority on Wednesday proposed rules aimed at ensuring stablecoins hold their value and firms keep cryptocurrencies safe, as the U.K. progresses on its plans to oversee regulation of the risky assets.
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May 28, 2025
Ex-Judge Launches £25B Ad-Price Action Against Google
Google is facing a new £25 billion ($33.7 billion) class action in the U.K. brought by a former deputy High Court judge on behalf of advertisers, alleging that the technology giant abused its dominant position in online search advertising.
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May 28, 2025
Thames Water Fined Record £123M Over Sewage, Dividends
Thames Water was fined £122.7 million ($165.8 million) on Wednesday by the water regulator for breaching rules governing its failed wastewater management and unjustified payment of dividends — the latest upset for the beleaguered utility company.
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May 27, 2025
Ex-SFO General Counsel Lands Role At Mayfair Chambers
Sara Lawson KC has joined Mayfair Place Chambers after stepping down as general counsel to the Serious Fraud Office earlier in the year.
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May 27, 2025
Suspected Ringleader Of €520M VAT Scheme Turns Self In
The suspected ringleader of a €520 million ($589 million) value-added tax fraud scheme that was under a cross-border investigation has turned himself in, law enforcement agencies said Tuesday.
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May 27, 2025
Italian Police Seize €1M In Fraud Probe Tied To Officials
Italian authorities seized assets on Tuesday worth up to €1.1 million ($1.25 million) as part of an investigation into agricultural funding fraud linked to the corruption of public officials and a police officer, European prosecutors said.
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May 27, 2025
Lancaster Crown Court Faces Closure Over Security Concerns
The government has opened up a consultation for its proposal to permanently close a major criminal court in the northwest of England and surrender the lease for the building.
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May 27, 2025
7th Person Arrested In Recycling Fraud Investigation
Environment Agency officers and regional police have arrested a seventh individual as part of an active investigation into the illegal recycling of export paperwork, the government body has revealed.
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May 27, 2025
JPMorgan Unit Fined For Failing To Disclose Key Data
The French electricity and gas markets regulator said Tuesday that it has fined a German subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase & Co. €500,000 ($568,000) because it failed to identify all its clients when energy prices soared in France.
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May 23, 2025
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen Nestlé hit with an intellectual property claim by a pet insurance company, VTB Capital bring a breach of contract lawsuit against J.P. Morgan Securities, and Société Générale's former chief executive face litigation from an Italian entrepreneur.
Expert Analysis
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Businesses Should Expect A Role In Tackling Fraud Next Year
If one word sums up a key trend in financial crime enforcement in 2024, it would be fraud, as enforcement agencies clamped down on consumer-focused crime — and businesses will need to be prepared to play a part in 2025 with the coming of the "failure to prevent fraud" offense, says Jessica Parker at Corker Binning.
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What FCA's 2024 Changes Suggest For Enforcement In 2025
Though the Financial Conduct Authority is likely to enter 2025 hungry for enforcement wins after fielding intense criticism in 2024 over proposed policy amendments, firms can glean ideas for mitigating their risk from heightened scrutiny by studying the regulator's changing behavior from the year just past, says Imogen Makin at WilmerHale.
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How The Wirecard Judge Addressed Unreliability Of Memory
In a case brought by the administrator of Wirecard against Greybull Capital, High Court Judge Sara Cockerill took a multipronged and thoughtful approach to a common problem with fraudulent misrepresentation claims — how to assess the evidence of what was said at a meeting where recollections differ and where contemporaneous documentation is limited, says Andrew Head at Forsters.
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Practical Considerations For Private Fund Side Letters
Side letters are a common way of formalizing negotiated arrangements between a private fund and a particular investor — and as the number and length of side letters per fundraise steadily climb, managers must consider the material legal risks carefully, say lawyers at Dechert.
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Planning For UK And EU Crypto-Asset Regulations In 2025
Fims should expect to devote the rest of 2024 and much of 2025 to fine-tuning their compliance frameworks to align with European Union crypto-asset regulations taking effect soon and U.K. regulators' plans for updating their own crypto-asset regime in the coming year, says Steven Lightstone at Morgan Lewis.
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What To Know About Plans For A UK Green Taxonomy
Rachel Richardson at Macfarlanes discusses the purpose of HM Treasury’s recent consultation on a U.K. green taxonomy, explains why the tool — which would define what economic activities support climate objectives — is necessary, and considers drafting challenges the U.K. government may face.
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Key Takeaways From EU's Coming Digital Act
The European Union's impending Digital Operational Resilience Act will necessitate closer collaboration on resilience, risk management and compliance, and crucial challenges include ensuring IT third-party service providers meet the requirements on or before January 2025, says Susie MacKenzie at Coralytics.
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Takeaways From EU's Draft AI Code Of Practice
The European Union AI Office’s recently published first draft of the General-Purpose AI Code of Practice sheds some welcome light on which Artificial Intelligence Act compliance issues the office finds particularly knotty and, importantly, acknowledges where further guidance will be necessary, say lawyers at Akin.
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The Rising Tide Of EU Antitrust Enforcement In Pharma
The European Commission’s recent record-breaking €463 million fine of Teva for abusing its dominant position confirms that European Union competition law enforcement in the pharmaceutical sector remains a priority, with infringements drawing serious financial exposure, say lawyers at Cooley.
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Looking Back On 2024's Competition Law Issues For GenAI
With inherent uncertainties in generative artificial intelligence raising antitrust issues that attract competition authorities' attention, the 2024 uptick in transaction reviews demonstrates that regulators are vigilant about the possibility that markets may tip in favor of large existing players, say lawyers at McDermott.
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UK Bill Aims To Make Better Use Of Data Across Economy
The new Data Bill’s practical improvements to data schemes and certification systems will be welcomed by online service providers, but organizations need to consider the conditions and whether compliance will entail technical operational changes, say lawyers at Osborne Clarke.
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The EU AI Act's Impact On Global Financial Regulation
The European Union’s new Artificial Intelligence Act, representing lawmakers’ first comprehensive attempt to regulate AI and giving special attention to the financial services sector, hopes to influence global legal and regulatory frameworks to maintain access to the EU market, say lawyers at Goodwin.
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Cross Market Drill Highlights Operational Resilience Priorities
The U.K.’s recent cross-market major infrastructure failure simulation exercise, demonstrates that operational resilience of the financial sector is high on the regulatory agenda, and the findings should ensure that the sector develops collective capabilities to deliver improvements, say lawyers at Taylor Wessing.
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Update On Timings Key For Online Safety Act Compliance
The Office of Communications’ recent update on Online Safety Act deadlines is significant because applicability of the act has been contingent on this guidance, and with clarification of enforcement details, organizations can now prepare for their risk assessment, say lawyers at Bird & Bird.
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What The Future Of AI In Financial Services Looks Like
Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the global financial services industry, with a hybrid model likely to evolve where AI handles routine tasks and humans focus on strategy and decision-making, so financial institutions should work with regulators to establish ethical standards and meet regulatory expectations without stifling innovation, say lawyers at Womble Bond.