Corporate Crime & Compliance UK
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Featured
So Far So Good For FCA's Little-Used Settlement Process
Even though the Financial Conduct Authority only used its partial settlement process for the third time in April, attorneys say the system is proving to be a success for individuals and companies facing disciplinary action from the watchdog.
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May 17, 2019
UK Truck Cartel Class Cert. Paused Amid Mastercard Appeal
The U.K.’s competition tribunal pumped the brakes Friday on a class certification bid against Daimler and other truck manufacturers accused of a price-fixing cartel, preferring to wait at least until the country’s high court decides whether to take up Mastercard’s appeal of a decision significantly lowering the certification bar.
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May 17, 2019
Citi, JPM Get Nod For $182.5M Euribor Settlement Payout
A Manhattan federal judge on Friday approved a $182.5 million settlement between JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup and investors who accuse the two megabanks of rigging a key euro rate, signing off also on a roughly $36 million haul for plaintiffs' firms that brought the antitrust class action.
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May 17, 2019
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week has seen a Kazakhstan lender file fraud claims against a dissolved London-based business, a Dubai airport security equipment company sue Barclays, and Yamaha's motorcycle business file claims against a German insurer. Here, Law360 looks at those and other new claims in the U.K.
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May 17, 2019
EU Forex Rigging Case Opens The Door To Litigation Wave
The expansion of U.S. plaintiffs firms into Europe means that five major banks fined €1.07 billion ($1.2 billion) Thursday for rigging the multitrillion-dollar foreign exchange market may be about to face a wave of costly follow-on claims in the region.
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May 17, 2019
EU Gets New Sanction Powers To Tackle Cyberattacks
Individuals and businesses that orchestrate or are involved in cyberattacks, including by providing financial support to the main plotters, will be hit with EU-wide sanctions such as travel bans or asset freezes under a new enforcement regime launched by the European Council on Friday.
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May 17, 2019
Insurance Firms ‘Falling Short’ On EU Rules, FCA Warns
British insurance firms are flouting European rules aimed at safeguarding consumers, the Financial Conduct Authority has said, warning that it will take action against insurers that fail to identify the needs of their customers.
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May 17, 2019
Investors Must Disclose Fund Info In $506M Kazakh Award Row
A London judge ordered two Moldovan oil and gas investors on Friday to hand over information about the source of their funds to the Republic of Kazakhstan, as the country seeks to establish who to pursue for costs.
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May 17, 2019
Pensions Watchdog Shows Teeth On Protecting Schemes
Britain’s pensions regulator has said it will focus over the next three years on ensuring that workplace schemes are protecting their members' funds, after a year of sanctions against rogue companies that have dodged their responsibilities for safeguarding retirement savings.
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May 17, 2019
Italy's Antitrust Watchdog Looks Into Google App Dominance
The Italian Competition Authority said Friday it has opened an investigation into Google Inc. over allegations it is abusing its dominant market position in the smart-device sector.
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May 17, 2019
Zurich Can Seek Prison Sentence For Lying Rock Singer
Swiss insurance giant Zurich can ask a criminal court to imprison an ageing rock-and-roll singer for lying about the underlying causes of his hearing loss in a claim for damages, a London appeals court said Friday.
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May 16, 2019
$100M Eastern European Cyber Ring Dismantled, Feds Say
Federal prosecutors, investigators and a grand jury from the Western District of Pennsylvania were part of an international effort to shut down the GozNym cybercrime network accused of trying to steal more than $100 million from victims around the world, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.
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May 16, 2019
UBS Worker Tells Jury She Was Just 'Nosy' About M&A Deals
A former UBS compliance officer accused of passing inside information on potential takeovers to her trader friend told a London jury Thursday that she had looked up confidential information simply because she was curious and wanted to know what deals should be on her radar.
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May 16, 2019
Ex-Oil Co. Employee Must Face Kickbacks Suit In London
A London appeals court ruled that a former Yukos employee must face the energy giant's claims that he took kickbacks from financial institutions in the English courts instead of in the Netherlands, holding that an earlier settlement giving Dutch courts jurisdiction did not apply.
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May 16, 2019
UK Losing £96B As 1 In 8 Disqualified Directors Remain Active
More than 1,000 individuals who have been disqualified from holding directorship posts in Britain are still running companies, costing the U.K. £96 billion ($121 billion), research by a fraud investigation provider revealed Thursday.
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May 16, 2019
EU Tells Firms To Write New Benchmark Rate Into Contracts
The European Central Bank has urged the bloc’s financial institutions to begin referring to the European Union’s new unsecured overnight borrowing rate in new contracts and those set to mature before the current scandal-hit eurozone benchmark is dropped in 2021.
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May 16, 2019
UK, Dutch Authorities Launch Probe Into Biodiesel Trading
Britain's top white collar cop said Thursday it is investigating biodiesel trading operations at a U.K. energy supplier and other entities alongside its counterparts in the Netherlands.
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May 16, 2019
EU Fines 5 Banks €1.07B For Rigging FX Trades
Five major banks including Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays have been fined more than €1 billion ($1.2 billion) for allegedly colluding in the trade of large sums in foreign-exchange markets, the European Commission announced Thursday.
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May 15, 2019
European Authorities Get New Tool To Stop VAT Fraud
European authorities have a new tool to fight fraud in value-added tax that could provide faster access to transaction information, the European Commission said Wednesday.
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May 15, 2019
Forex Investors Ask 2nd Circ. To Reject $300M Fee Objector
Investors who have reached $2.3 billion in settlements with big banks in sprawling litigation over the alleged rigging of foreign exchange markets told the Second Circuit that the lone objection to a $300 million attorney fee award should be rejected.
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May 15, 2019
Libor Investors Want Claim Forms Kept Private
A putative class of investors is pushing back against a bid by Barclays, UBS and other banks still fighting Libor-rigging allegations in New York federal court to access claim forms submitted in connection to settlements with other banks.
Editor's Picks
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Tight Budgets Hinder UK's Economic Crime-Fighting Efforts
The U.K government has piled pressure on its white collar enforcers to tackle increasingly complex crime while offering few new resources to fund the task — leaving agencies to get creative or risk falling short.
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Sanctions Regulator Forces Banks To Tighten Up Compliance
Banks in the U.K. are under pressure to sharpen their compliance procedures after a lender was slapped with an unprecedented fine for handling just £200 ($265) of tainted money linked to Egypt after an assets freeze in Britain.
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EBA Takes AML Spotlight With New Powers In Danske Probe
Just two months after winning powers to become Europe's top anti-money laundering enforcer, the European Banking Authority has already fired a warning shot that should make lenders take notice: A marquee investigation into possible regulatory failures that allowed Danske Bank to process some €200 billion in suspicious transactions over nearly a decade without facing scrutiny.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
SRA Should Not Condemn Lawful Tax Avoidance
In suggesting that solicitors who facilitate tax avoidance breach its code of conduct, the Solicitors Regulation Authority fails to distinguish between legal tax avoidance and illegal tax evasion, says attorney Martin Kenney.
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Series
Why I Became A Lawyer: Completing The Journey Home
My mother's connection to her Native American heritage had a major influence on my career — my decision to enter the legal profession was driven by the desire to return to my tribal community and help it in any way I could, says Jason Hauter of Akin Gump.
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UK Confiscation Order Ruling Is A Win For Prosecutors
Prosecutors will be glad that an English appeals court's recent judgment in Fulton v. Regina joins other Proceeds of Crime Act decisions in confirming that a court does not need to show leniency or resolve ambiguities in favor of an offender when making a confiscation order, says Nick Barnard of Corker Binning.
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Where The Post-Libor Litigation Tsunami Will Hit
The permanent cessation of the Libor rate in 2021 will likely trigger a flood of litigation over many existing contracts that lack effective replacements. Marc Gottridge of Hogan Lovells identifies the types of products that may be most susceptible to disputes.
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What Gov't Outsourcing Ruling Means For Investigations
A New York federal court's recent decision in U.S. v. Connolly is a warning to prosecutors against outsourcing their investigations to companies and outside counsel, but it should also be used by companies to determine the framework for internal investigations, says Rachel Maimin of Lowenstein Sandler.
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Foreign Banks Should Remain Wary Of US Sanctions Laws
While major enforcement actions against foreign banks for U.S. sanctions violations have slowed down in the past few years, recent settlements against three foreign banks show that federal and state authorities are still enforcing sanctions laws — and the pace of enforcement will likely increase, say Andrew Zimmitti and Richard Hartunian of Manatt.
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Despite Decline In Cyberattacks, UK Cos. Should Stay Vigilant
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The U.K. Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport's latest cybersecurity survey shows that U.K. cyberattacks have decreased in the last 12 months, likely thanks in part to the General Data Protection Regulation. But companies' cybersecurity efforts should continue to evolve, say experts at PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
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UK Antitrust Watchdog Proposals Would Bolster Enforcement
The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority's proposals for reshaping competition enforcement and consumer protection would shift the historical balance in U.K. competition policy, increasing regulatory burden on companies while weakening judicial scrutiny of CMA actions, says Bill Batchelor of Skadden.
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Guest Feature
Preet Bharara On The Human Factor In The Justice System
A key theme in Preet Bharara's new book is the enormous role the human element plays in the administration of justice. The former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York discussed this theme, among other topics, in a recent conversation with White and Williams attorney Randy Maniloff.
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Considering A More Cost-Effective Future For The SFO
In light of multiple recent examples of U.K. Serious Fraud Office investigations yielding far less than the agency may have hoped for, a new approach to prosecuting individuals and corporations may be a smart investment, says Azizur Rahman of Rahman Ravelli.