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Financial Services UK
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April 03, 2024
Alleged Water Investment Fraudsters Appear In Court
Three men who allegedly defrauded investors out of £3.9 million ($4.9 million) through an unregulated water investment scheme appeared at a London criminal court Wednesday.
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April 02, 2024
Ex-Autonomy Exec Denies He Blew Whistle To Deflect Scandal
Autonomy's former U.S. chief financial officer denied under cross-examination Tuesday in the California criminal fraud trial of ex-CEO Michael Lynch that he brought whistleblower concerns about alleged accounting irregularities to the software company's Deloitte auditors to "cover" himself after a payroll scandal emerged in his department.
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April 02, 2024
Feds Seek Leniency For UK Billionaire Lewis In Trading Case
Prosecutors have told a Manhattan federal judge that 87-year-old British billionaire Joe Lewis should serve less than 18 months in prison after he pled guilty to insider trading, citing his age and health and arguing he "has otherwise lived a law-abiding life."
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April 02, 2024
UK Reaches Landmark AI Risk Testing Agreement With US
The U.K. government said Tuesday it had reached a landmark agreement with the U.S. to share the testing of advanced models for artificial intelligence, after highlighting in a report its increasing use by cybercriminals to attack financial institutions and business.
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April 02, 2024
Accountant Fined And Banned For Triple Loan Fraud
The former director of a management consultancy has been banned from running a company for 12 years and agreed to pay back £75,000 ($94,000) after having claimed five times the amount his firm was entitled to under a government-backed COVID-19 loan program, the U.K. Insolvency Service said Tuesday.
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April 02, 2024
Luxembourg's Deduction Rules Flout EU Law, Bloc Tells Court
The European Commission asked the European Union's Court of Justice to rule that Luxembourg is breaking EU law by including securitized entities among financial undertakings that are allowed deductibility of interest payments, the EU's Official Journal said Tuesday.
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April 02, 2024
Cost Of COVID Fraud Crackdown Leaves Authorities In A Bind
As British authorities dial back their worst fears about the scale of fraud linked to COVID-19 relief loans, legal experts say the initial crackdown to prosecute rogue directors has faltered as the costs start to outweigh the benefits.
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April 02, 2024
UK Makes 2027 Commitment To 1-Day Securities Settlement
HM Treasury has said that Britain will start a one-day cycle for securities trade settlement by December 2027, bringing the country into harmony with other markets to reduce the risk that those involved will fail to meet their obligations.
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April 02, 2024
Small UK Cos. 'Freed' From VAT Payments By Threshold Rise
Some 28,000 businesses have been "freed" from paying value-added tax as the registration threshold rose from £85,000 ($106,000) to £90,000 in revenue, HM Treasury has said.
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April 02, 2024
Insurers Say Pension Models Could Undercut Auto-Enrollment
Government plans to introduce new pension pot models risk undermining the success of automatic enrollment and could have a negative impact on retirement saver outcomes, the Association of British Insurers has warned.
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April 02, 2024
UBS To Launch $2B Buyback After Credit Suisse Deal Closes
UBS said Tuesday that it will launch a share buyback program to return up to $2 billion to shareholders as the Swiss lender prepares to kickstart its capital returns after its takeover of Credit Suisse AG is finalized in June.
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April 01, 2024
Autonomy Paid Whistleblower $750K Over Firing, Jury Told
Autonomy's former U.S. chief financial officer testified Monday in the California criminal fraud trial of ex-CEO Michael Lynch that he was fired after blowing the whistle to British regulators about accounting irregularities, and revealed that Autonomy later paid him $750,000 to resolve his wrongful termination claims.
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March 28, 2024
Feds Say Ex-OneCoin Atty Should Serve 'Substantial' Time
Manhattan federal prosecutors have requested a "substantial" amount of prison time for a Bulgarian woman who worked on the legal team at the fraudulent OneCoin cryptocurrency exchange, but said the sentence should fall below the guidelines range of 10 years.
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March 28, 2024
Ex-Plastics Co. Manager Found Guilty Of Insider Dealing
A former manager at a plastics company was found guilty of insider dealing on Thursday by a London jury, but his friend was acquitted of similar charges in connection with the £261 million ($329 million) purchase of a rival company.
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March 28, 2024
Insurers Must Face £13B Russia-Stranded Planes Suits In UK
Major insurers including Allianz, AXA and Liberty Mutual will have to face £13 billion ($16.4 billion) worth of claims over planes stranded in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine as a London judge on Thursday ruled against attempts to move the claims to Moscow.
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March 28, 2024
Developer Says Law Firm Flubbed FOS Appeal
A property developer is suing its former lawyers for just over £700,000 ($883,500) for negligence after the firm allegedly failed to file a complaint against a now-infamous turnaround unit of the Royal Bank of Scotland when its investments turned sour in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.
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March 28, 2024
Traders' Loss Raises High Bar For Bankers To Clear Names
The failure of two former traders to overturn their rate-rigging convictions could mark the end of the road for others convicted in connection with the scandal because of the reluctance of the English courts to topple precedent, lawyers say.
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March 28, 2024
EU Watchdogs To Relax On OTC Derivative Clearing Breaches
The European Union's securities regulator has said it expects national regulators not to prioritize supervisory action against banks or insurers that fail to clear some over-the-counter derivatives with foreign pension schemes, ahead of legal exemption.
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March 28, 2024
NCA Logs 5% Decline In Suspicious Activity Reports Last Year
The National Crime Agency reported Thursday a 5% decline in reports about potential criminal activities such as suspected money laundering and terrorist financing to its intelligence unit received during the financial year that ended March 2023.
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March 28, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen investors target fraudsters who ran a fake film tax scheme, Barclays Bank sue privately owned Russian bank PJSC Sovcombank, easyGroup bring a trademark infringement claim against online casino TGI Entertainment for its "easybet" word sign, and a bioethanol fuel company hit high-profile individuals connected to the collapsed Elysian Fuels scheme. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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March 28, 2024
UK Signs Accounting Standards Deal With Australia
Britain's audit watchdog said Thursday it has secured a deal on accounting standards with Australian authorities to make it easier for auditors to work between both countries.
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March 28, 2024
Investors Told To Show Standing For £1.4B StanChart Claim
A London judge on Thursday ordered part of a group of investors suing Standard Chartered PLC for £1.4 billion ($1.7 billion) — for allegedly downplaying how much it had breached U.S. sanctions — to prove they are entitled to bring the claim.
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March 28, 2024
Crowe Denies £5M Negligence Claim Over Audits Of Wine Co.
A London-based accounting firm has hit back against a £5 million ($6.3 million) negligence claim by the liquidators of a failed wine investment company, saying it acted with the "care and skill" of a "reasonably competent" auditor.
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March 28, 2024
Struggling Lender Amigo Raises Cash, Eyes Reverse Takeover
Amigo Holdings PLC said on Thursday that it has raised cash and is looking for a reverse takeover target so that it can continue operating as a listed company, amid the planned liquidation of its troubled subprime lending arm.
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March 28, 2024
Abrdn Property Plans Wind-Down After Merger Rejected
Abrdn Property Income Trust Ltd. has said it is planning a managed wind-down after its shareholders voted against an all-share merger with Custodian Property Income REIT PLC that valued it at £237 million ($299 million).
Expert Analysis
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Putin Ruling May Have Unintended Sanctions Consequences
By widening the scope of control, the Court of Appeal's recent judgment in Mints v. PJSC opens the possibility that everything in Russia could be deemed to be controlled by President Vladimir Putin, which would significantly expand the U.K.'s sanctions regime in unintended ways, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.
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Navigating The New Framework On Nature-Related Reporting
The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures’ recently published disclosure framework represents a significant step toward the coalescence of nature-related disclosure standards for corporates and financial institutions, and has the potential to influence investor expectations and future regulation, say lawyers at Kirkland.
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FCA Engagement Signals New Direction In ESG Disclosures
The Financial Conduct Authority recently published a response to a consultation on sustainability-related standards, highlighting the regulator's priorities for the U.K.'s green transition, including an early indication that it may turn its attention to nature-based disclosures, say Ferdisha Snagg and Andreas Wildner at Cleary.
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New Policies Will Aid UK Cos. Accessing US Capital Markets
The U.K. government's recent adoption of regulations permitting the use of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, and announcement of measures to remove a 1.5% tax on certain share issues and transfers, should help ensure that England remains an attractive holding company jurisdiction for companies seeking a listing on U.S. stock exchanges, say lawyers at Davis Polk.
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Key Takeaways From ICO Report On Workforce Monitoring
The Information Commissioner's Office recently published guidance on workplace monitoring, highlighting that employers must strike a balance between their business needs and workers' privacy rights to avoid falling afoul of U.K. data protection law requirements, say lawyers at MoFo.
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Creating A Safe Workplace Goes Beyond DEI Compliance
The Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority recently proposed a new diversity and inclusion regulatory framework to combat sexual harassment in the workplace, and companies should take this opportunity to holistically transform their culture to ensure zero tolerance for misconduct, says Vivek Dodd at Skillcast.
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Asset Managers Should Prepare For Nature-Related Reporting
Although it is doubtful that the U.K. nature-related task force’s recent recommendations for mandatory nature reporting will come into effect imminently, it is likely that investors will begin to use them to assess risks and will request asset managers to shift capital flows to more sustainable outcomes, say lawyers at Macfarlanes.
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What Justices' Cert. Denial Of Terrorism Suit Means For Banks
The U.S. Supreme Court's denial of certiorari in Freeman v. HSBC Holdings lets stand the Second Circuit's decision on the narrow scope of conspiracy liability under the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, providing protection for banks that otherwise could have faced liability for finance activities with limited connections to third parties' unlawful acts, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Firms Should Prepare For New DEI Reporting Requirements
While the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority's recent proposals on diversity and inclusion in the financial sector are progressive, implementing reporting requirements will pose data collection and privacy protection challenges for employers, say lawyers at Fieldfisher.
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What The UK Digital Markets Bill Will Mean For Businesses
The new investigatory and enforcement powers conferred by the U.K. Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill mean that although businesses may be aware of their market status due to existing EU law, they should ensure they are mindful of the changes to consumer law and the implications for digital markets, says Richard Hugo at Burges Salmon.
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5 Takeaways From ICO's Biometric Recognition Guidance
Recent guidance from the U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office is a helpful reminder of key data protection principles and obligations stemming from the U.K. General Data Protection Regulation that organizations should consider when implementing biometric recognition technology, say lawyers at Dechert.
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Shifting From Technical To Clear Insurance Contract Wordings
Recent developments on insurance policies, including the Financial Conduct Authority's new consumer duty, represent a major shift for insurers and highlight the importance of drafting policies that actively improve understanding, rather than shift the onus onto the end user, say Tamsin Hyland and Jonathan Charwat at RPC.
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A Case For The Green Investment Regime Under The ECT
The EU and U.K.'s potential plans to exit the Energy Charter Treaty, which has been criticized as protecting fossil fuel investments to the detriment of energy transition, ignore the significant strides taken to modernize the treaty and its ability to promote investment in cleaner energy forms, say Amy Frey and Simon Maynard at King & Spalding.
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Considerations For Fund Managers Seeking Retail Investment
With recent legal developments, including a revised Long Term Investment Funds Regulation effective in 2024, supporting the market trend of retailization, there are several practical considerations for alternative fund managers embarking on a European fundraise for retail capital, say Zac Mellor-Clark and Kate Downey at Fried Frank.
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FDI Considerations For UK Venture Capital Transactions
With the U.K. National Security and Investment Act highlighting foreign direct investment matters for venture capital transactions, investors dealing with companies connected to the U.K. should be alive to how the act's requirements can affect deal timelines, structures and terms, say lawyers at Covington.