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 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.
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May 12, 2026
The administrators of Market Financial Solutions have accused the collapsed lender's owner of systematically plundering £1.3 billion ($1.8 billion) in a "widescale" fraud to fund his "lavish lifestyle."
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May 12, 2026
Deutsche Bank can seek to force Monaco-based billionaire Alexander Vik to answer questions about his company's assets to help claw back debt exceeding $360 million, after a London appeals court ruled Tuesday it does have the power to issue such an order.
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May 12, 2026
VTB Bank has lost its bid to lift an injunction that blocks it from bringing a $156 million case against JPMorgan in Russia over frozen funds, with a London appeals court upholding a ruling that the claim was "vexatious and oppressive."
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May 12, 2026
The former owners of PrivatBank urged an appeals court on Tuesday to overturn a finding that they owe the Ukrainian lender $3 billion, arguing that a later repayment to the bank "extinguished" the loss resulting from their fraudulent loan recycling scheme.
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May 12, 2026
Financial crime investigators in Jersey have seized more than £725,000 ($980,000) in bribes that were laundered by the former chief executive of Brazil's largest oil and gas transportation company.
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May 12, 2026
The Financial Conduct Authority said on Tuesday that it has fined a pensions adviser £755,000 ($1 million) and banned him from working in financial services in Britain for acting without integrity and putting customers at risk for personal gain.
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May 12, 2026
The Swiss financial markets watchdog released plans on Tuesday to tighten up its anti-money laundering rules, with new measures that would require banks, insurers and investment funds to understand the ownership and control structure of the customer.
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May 12, 2026
An appellate court ruled on Tuesday that practical difficulties render a split-trial order unworkable in a £4.5 million ($6.1 million) claim brought by a former sub-postmaster against the Post Office and Fujitsu over a judgment that was allegedly fraudulently obtained.
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May 12, 2026
The Judicial Conduct Investigations Office will reopen complaints by several women who say that they were bullied by an Employment Tribunal judge, conceding before an upcoming court hearing that it had misapplied rules on how it investigates conduct.
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May 12, 2026
The accounting watchdog said Tuesday that it has banned two former finance directors of Carillion PLC from working in the profession for their reckless preparation of financial statements for the construction business, which is in liquidation.
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May 11, 2026
Britain's tax authority investigated one in three large companies on value-added tax matters in financial year 2024-25 as part of efforts to crack down on noncompliance, according to official data.
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May 11, 2026
The U.K. government sanctioned on Monday 85 individuals and companies linked to Russia's "abhorrent" forced deportation and militarization of Ukrainian children and interference with Armenian elections.
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May 11, 2026
Regional law firm BLB Solicitors is facing a claim that it failed to consult up to 85 staff who it made redundant after the Solicitors Regulation Authority stepped in to shutter the operation when it collapsed.
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May 11, 2026
A former stockbroker convicted for money laundering has been sentenced to a further 499 days in prison for failing to fully repay money owed under a confiscation order, the Financial Conduct Authority has said.