New legislation laid out in the King's Speech on Wednesday included the government's plans for a bill to strengthen trading ties with the European Union alongside an Enhancing Financial Services Bill in the next 12 months, but lawyers warn that the scope remains limited with potential unexpected consequences.
New powers that put companies on the chopping block for crimes committed by their executives dramatically expand corporate liability to include a wider array of offenses, which businesses already struggling with "compliance fatigue" have barely begun to grapple with, lawyers say.
When the Serious Fraud Office abruptly walked away from negotiations over a deferred prosecution agreement with Ultra Electronics in 2022 and widened its bribery investigation, it signaled a setback in the agency's use of corporate settlements.
The Court of Appeal's recent decision that the Solicitors Regulation Authority must prove that Dentons' breach of money laundering legislation was "sufficiently serious" could complicate the watchdog's job of enforcing its rules, experts say.
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New legislation laid out in the King's Speech on Wednesday included the government's plans for a bill to strengthen trading ties with the European Union alongside an Enhancing Financial Services Bill in the next 12 months, but lawyers warn that the scope remains limited with potential unexpected consequences.
New powers that put companies on the chopping block for crimes committed by their executives dramatically expand corporate liability to include a wider array of offenses, which businesses already struggling with "compliance fatigue" have barely begun to grapple with, lawyers say.
When the Serious Fraud Office abruptly walked away from negotiations over a deferred prosecution agreement with Ultra Electronics in 2022 and widened its bribery investigation, it signaled a setback in the agency's use of corporate settlements.
The Court of Appeal's recent decision that the Solicitors Regulation Authority must prove that Dentons' breach of money laundering legislation was "sufficiently serious" could complicate the watchdog's job of enforcing its rules, experts say.
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May 18, 2026
The Law Society on Monday called for greater clarity on legal protections for lawyers sharing client information in connection with economic crime investigations, saying that solicitors have been cautious divulging details despite landmark reforms designed to combat dirty money.
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May 18, 2026
The Serious Fraud Office's bribery settlement with a British defense contractor underscores the agency's policy shift toward cutting deals in less than ideal circumstances, offering a blueprint on how to realign derailed negotiations, lawyers say.
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May 18, 2026
A tribunal has ruled that the National Crime Agency did not discriminate against a team of female advisers by forcing them to work unpaid overtime, concluding that the male colleague who avoided the extra work was in a different situation.
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May 18, 2026
HM Revenue and Customs told the U.K. Supreme Court Monday that ScottishPower can't dodge paying tax on just over £28 million ($38 million) in redress payments that the energy company made after being investigated for regulatory failures.
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May 18, 2026
Kazakh miner ENRC urged a London judge on Monday to "adopt a tender approach" to decide how much compensation it should receive from the Serious Fraud Office and Dechert LLP after the agency's botched bribery and corruption probe.
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May 18, 2026
HM Treasury said on Monday that it will introduce ring-fencing reforms it designed in collaboration with the Bank of England through its Enhancing Financial Services Bill, aiming to boost bank lending by £80 billion ($107 billion).
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May 18, 2026
A police financial investigator has been handed a prison sentence for abusing his access to police systems to find financial information and criminal records of people he knew and disclosing confidential information.
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May 18, 2026
The government said Monday it will radically overhaul the consumer credit regime, arguing that the 50-year-old rules are outdated and too complex, amid lingering concerns the reforms could weaken protections for borrowers.
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May 18, 2026
U.K. financial regulators published proposals on Monday to support businesses in the sector to develop and accelerate the digitalization of shares or bonds and its infrastructure.
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May 18, 2026
EY has paid £105.5 million ($141 million) to the administrators of NMC Health PLC after settling a £2 billion claim over its allegedly negligent auditing of the collapsed hospital operator and failure to spot major fraud by the health giant's shareholders.
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May 15, 2026
The tax gap is contributing to the inequality of wealth in the U.K. that has resulted in 350 individuals and families having a combined wealth equivalent to around a quarter of the country's gross domestic product, a think tank said Friday.
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May 15, 2026
The past week in London has seen singer Rita Ora be sued by her management company, the billionaire Gertner brothers file a part 8 claim and Stephenson Harwood lodge a debt claim against a member of the Bulgari jewelry dynasty. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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May 15, 2026
A U.K. bank has beaten a former executive's claim that it penalized her for blowing the whistle on alleged regulatory failures, persuading a tribunal that its disciplinary probe into her hotel spending was not a sham.
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May 15, 2026
Swiss prosecutors have dropped their bid to extradite a Venezuelan entrepreneur living in the U.K. in connection with money laundering allegations, the Crown Prosecution Service has confirmed.
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May 15, 2026
British Gas owner Centrica PLC said Friday that it has agreed to pay up to £90 million ($120 million) to reach a settlement over an investigation by the energy markets regulator into involuntary prepayment meter installations for vulnerable customers.
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May 14, 2026
A management consultancy has told a London court that a purported bond-market trader used a $9.4 million investment to buy a country home and other businesses instead of paying promised returns.
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May 14, 2026
Britain's tax authority has cleared former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner of claims that she dodged taxes on an £800,000 ($1 million) property, according to an interview published Thursday, just as the Labour government faces demands for new leadership.
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May 14, 2026
A private equity shop's special purpose vehicle has settled its case against a French restaurant manager alleging that he lied about his previous work experience to secure a €9.3 million ($11 million) investment for a failed food business venture.
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May 14, 2026
A diamond and jewelry tycoon accused of swindling more than $1 billion from banks testified at trial in London on Thursday that he never attended board meetings and signed off on minutes years after the fact without ever seeing the contents.
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May 14, 2026
A former executive at investment holding company Jusan Technologies Ltd. won his whistleblowing case on Thursday after a tribunal found that the British company withheld money he was due after he raised concerns about embezzlement.
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May 13, 2026
Crispin Odey has settled sexual assault claims brought against him by several women, a month after he dropped his £79 million ($107 million) libel claim against the Financial Times over articles which brought the allegations to public attention.
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May 13, 2026
A growing number of taxpayers are falling for scammers promoting bills of exchange as a means of paying off a tax liability, Britain's tax authority warned Wednesday.
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May 13, 2026
European prosecutors said Wednesday that German authorities arrested one suspect and carried out a series of raids in an investigation into an alleged €18 million ($21 million) value-added tax carousel fraud involving the cross-border sale of small electronics.
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May 13, 2026
A diamond and jewelry tycoon accused of swindling more than $1 billion from banks has denied controlling various businesses that carried out the Indian gold bullion fraud, as he testified on Wednesday at the trial brought by the liquidators of U.K. companies.
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May 13, 2026
A High Court judge on Wednesday blocked an attempt by insurers Chubb and Fidelis to claim contributions from a group of underwriters for their liability to aircraft lessors for planes stranded in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.