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As Britain's financial services continue to deal with the fallout caused by the coronavirus crisis, one area continues to eclipse the work of the sector: the revamp of U.K. rules as the country is cut off from the European Union's regulatory hold when the Brexit transition period ends. Here, Law360 takes a look at Brexit and other key regulatory factors that will preoccupy financial services lawyers in 2021.
A lawyer for an Indian businessman accused of defrauding lenders overseas urged a London judge on Friday to let him spend more than £2.8 million ($3.9 million) in funds from sales of a French property he owned to cover his living expenses and legal fees.
A former Russian banking official ordered to repay hundreds of millions of dollars allegedly swindled from the lender urged a London judge on Friday to allow him to sell two homes in America to afford his living expenses and mounting legal fees.
Unicredit Bank AG is suing the owners of a ship for more than $26.3 million in the High Court after thousands of metric tons of oil disappeared after arriving in a United Arab Emirates port.
This past week in London has seen a top executive at Huawei take action against HSBC, British Gas file two fraud claims against MasterCard and Visa, and Chanel sue over a trademark infringement. Here, Law360 looks at those and other new claims in the U.K.
The Financial Conduct Authority said on Friday that a day trader convicted of insider dealing along with a friend who worked at UBS Group AG must pay approximately £3.9 million ($5.3 million) under a confiscation order.
A judge ruled on Friday in favor of an Indian lender's claim against a mining company and three individuals over outstanding loan repayments totaling $38 million, saying the defendants had no real prospect of fighting off the lawsuit.
European authorities have seized dozens of properties and arrested 13 people in connection with an anti-money laundering, tax evasion and corruption investigation into a convicted fraudster living in Spain who ran a network of companies through accomplices.
Europe's banking regulator has set out criteria designed to allow investment companies to identify employees conducting activities that could pose a risk to the business, in a move to ensure that institutions have sound governance arrangements and protect themselves against failure.
Lloyd's of London confirmed on Friday that its members are providing insurance for a controversial offshore oil drilling program in the Bahamas, a step that has attracted the anger of climate groups opposed to the project.
Two lawmakers have accused the Financial Conduct Authority of being stifled by "bureaucratic inertia" over its response to a major pensions transfer scandal and should establish a specialist unit for responding more rapidly to complaints.
Britain's financial lifeboat scheme said Friday it could hike its fees by almost half for the year ending in March 2022 to cover an expected surge in company failures linked to the coronavirus pandemic and a rise in claims against pension providers.
The Financial Conduct Authority has proposed setting a price cap of up to 30% on the fees that claims management companies charge customers who succeed with cases linked to financial services products, as it seeks to save consumers up to £9.6 million ($13.1 million) a year.
Stewarts Law LLP's Clive Zietman talks to Law360 about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, how technology has changed lawyers' jobs and why the U.K.'s class action system remains different from that in the U.S.
A judge rejected a Taiwanese shipping magnate's request to leave the U.K. before a Greek shipping company with a $60 million judgment against him can ask about his assets, saying Thursday the tycoon remains a flight risk.
The owner of an Abu Dhabi-based shipbuilder has denied bribing top Mozambican officials in a $2 billion corruption scandal, claiming that the African country's leadership should be held to account if his "campaign contributions" are illegal in the U.K.
The insurance industry has backed the European Commission's plans to empower a private advisory group to develop reporting standards for businesses on the climate-change risks they face and their environmental work.
Epic Games tried on Thursday to draw the U.S.-based parent companies of Apple and Google into competition claims in London over their decision to pull its hit video game Fortnite from their app stores, arguing that their local divisions tie the American companies to the litigation.
A judge ruled on Thursday that a contract dispute worth hundreds of millions of euros between Argentina and a group of investors over the country's decision to adjust calculations and avoid a bond payout will go to trial in London in October 2022.
The European Commission is considering ways to give businesses easier access to insurance cover for export credit to help them overcome economic challenges to the goods trade posed by the COVID-19 crisis.
The Financial Conduct Authority and the government's pensions department have inked an agreement allowing them to coordinate their activities and exchange information as they police finance companies that could be harming consumers.
Switzerland's financial regulator said on Thursday that it has started proceedings against a former manager at Julius Baer Group AG for "serious breaches" of the country's money laundering regulations in connection with Venezuelan clients.
Attorneys for a Ukrainian bank allegedly plundered by two oligarchs urged a Delaware vice chancellor on Wednesday to slow the $17 million sale of a Cleveland office tower purportedly bought with some of the bank's cash, citing price, fairness and conflict concerns.
Liquidators for a company behind an allegedly fraudulent scheme that promised returns to people who funded investment misselling claims kicked off a London trial Wednesday seeking more than £2 million ($2.7 million) from former executives and an insurer connected to the company.
The Serious Fraud Office said Wednesday it has been granted permission to take a further £16,000 ($21,860) from the pension pot of a convicted fraudster and former City trader to compensate his victims.
A court ruled on Wednesday that the extradition of a hedge fund employee wanted in a tax fraud investigation in Germany cannot be halted because of Brexit as his European arrest warrant was issued before Britain left the European Union.
More corporate clients than ever have pursued third-party litigation funding in England this year, as the COVID-19 pandemic has forced businesses to think more conservatively and try to prioritize the cash on their balance sheets.
The recent decision in the Financial Conduct Authority's business interruption insurance case was a big deal for policyholders forced to shut because of COVID-19, but it also marked the first test of the Financial List's most unusual features five years since its launch.
Australia's recent decision to introduce a licensing regime for its litigation funders has stirred up attention across the industry, but experts say it appears unlikely that the U.K. will move beyond its current combination of light-touch regulation and court oversight.
Deciding whether to pay the demanded ransom during a cyberattack is complex and requires a careful balancing of the risks to the firm's business against the reputational and regulatory risks, but companies can also prepare for this eventuality by taking concrete steps now, say Rob Dedman and Kim Roberts at King & Spalding.
Although the U.K. Supreme Court's recent decision in MasterCard v. Merricks removes some certification barriers for collective actions, aspects of the court's opinion may provide comfort for defendants, say Louise Freeman and Harry Denlegh-Maxwell at Covington.
New extensions of the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act's temporary protections for struggling businesses, allowing delays to creditor enforcement actions, indicate that the U.K.'s restructuring process is increasingly prioritizing the survival of businesses amid the ongoing pandemic, say attorneys at Haynes and Boone.
If the European Court of Justice decides to extend the principle of double jeopardy throughout the EU's free travel zone in WS v. Bundesrepublik Deutschland, it would allow individuals who have received a final judgment on criminal charges from any member state to travel freely within the bloc without fear of arrest or extradition for the same offense, says Edward Grange at Corker Binning.
In the coming year, the Biden administration will likely align its policies on climate change, finance and trade more closely with those of international partners and organizations, leading to more coordinated action on climate standards that will be applied across the global economy, say consultants at C&M International.
Jonah Anderson and Lucy Rogers at White & Case discuss how and why U.K. anti-money laundering regulation has evolved to include the art market, what the regulation means for participants, and the extent to which the U.K.'s increased separation from the EU is likely to affect the requirements.
COVID-19 has reignited calls to expand U.K. whistleblowing laws, with many advocating for enhanced reporting protections and independent oversight of cases, says Pia Sanchez at CM Murray.
The U.K. Information Commissioner's Office's £1.25 million fine against Ticketmaster over cybersecurity failings that exposed customer payment card data offers several technical and organizational compliance lessons for companies subject to the EU's General Data Protection Regulation, say attorneys at Debevoise.
As the Danish tax authority prepares for the first of a three-part U.K. trial involving cum-ex fraud, U.K. recipients of interview requests from the Danish prosecutorial agency should neither automatically accept, nor ignore the invitations, despite that agency's seeming lack of power to compel their attendance, says David Corker at Corker Binning.
The Law Commission's recently announced review of Britain's corporate criminal liability laws could lead to reform options such as the introduction of a strict liability offense, which would be sure to improve prosecutorial chances of corporate convictions, says Aziz Rahman at Rahman Ravelli.
With the pandemic serving as a catalyst for increased financial fraud, it's important to recognize that these scams are not only devastating for victims, they also pose a significant threat to law firms and individual solicitors who fail to do their due diligence, say James Darbyshire at the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and Heather Clark at Burness Paull.
When the U.K.'s transition out of the European Union ends on Dec. 21, its own sanctions regime will come into effect, and though it will initially be similar to the European Union's, important differences and potential future divergences mean that the U.K. rules should be considered separately, say attorneys at Linklaters.
The U.K. High Court's recent decision in Travelport v. WEX, dissecting a material adverse effect clause in the context of the pandemic's impact on the payments industry, highlights contractual ambiguity and provides practical drafting pointers for mergers and acquisitions lawyers in the U.K. and U.S., say attorneys at King & Spalding.
As open-banking fintech models proliferate, regulators in both the U.S. and the U.K. appear to be embracing technology, albeit in different ways, say attorneys at Latham.
Opinion
The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court's recent Crumpler v. Exential Investments decision, officially allowing legal financing in the British Virgin Islands, represents a continuation of litigation funding's acceptance across key jurisdictions for insolvency litigation during a time when these types of cases are set to spike, says Robin Ganguly at Burford Capital.