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Financial Services UK
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April 08, 2024
Ex-Autonomy Exec Says Boss's Invoice Ask Caused Concern
A former Autonomy finance employee took the stand Monday in the criminal fraud trial of ex-CEO Michael Lynch and finance director Stephen Chamberlain, telling a California federal jury that he was "not comfortable" with one of Chamberlain's invoice requests and was sacked after raising concerns about accounting irregularities.
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April 08, 2024
Canada's High Court Enforces Award In Greek Defense Suit
The Supreme Court of Canada has affirmed the enforcement of an arbitral award in a dispute over a contract between aircraft manufacturer Bombardier Inc. and Greece's Ministry of National Defence, saying a Canadian bank had to refuse payment to the beneficiary of a letter of credit because of fraud.
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April 08, 2024
£54M Claimed From Failed Financial Services Last Year
The U.K.'s lifeboat scheme said Monday it has recovered £54 million ($68 million) in the financial year ended March 31 from the estates of failed financial services companies.
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April 15, 2024
Kirkland Hires Leveraged Finance Pro From Allen & Overy
Kirkland & Ellis LLP has recruited a debt finance specialist from Allen & Overy LLP as it continues to rebuild in the United Kingdom after undergoing a string of departures to rival U.S. law firm Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP in late 2023.
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April 08, 2024
Attwells Denies Breaking Promise In £1.2M Loan Dispute
Attwells Solicitors LLP has denied promising that it was acting on behalf of a man who, the law firm says, was probably fraudulently posing as the owner of two properties in a move to borrow £775,000 ($980,000) from a finance company.
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April 08, 2024
Gowling, Osborne Clarke Steer £60M Tech Co. Pension Deal
Insurer Just Group said Monday it has completed a £60 million ($75.7 million) buy-in of a pension scheme sponsored by technology companies Epson (UK) Ltd. and Epson Europe BV, in a deal guided by Gowling WLG and Osborne Clarke.
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April 08, 2024
Pension Schemes Considering Alternatives For End Goal
Pension plans need to carefully weigh a range of options for their end game strategies, a professional services firm said, as retirement savings scheme funding continues to hover around near record levels.
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April 08, 2024
Grant Thornton Fined For Audit Compliance Breaches
The Financial Reporting Council said Monday it has fined accounting firm Grant Thornton £40,000 ($50,500) for failing to comply with audit regulations in its work on a local authority's pension fund.
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April 15, 2024
Hill Dickinson Hires 2 Teams From Irwin Mitchell
Hill Dickinson LLP has recruited two groups of real estate specialists from Irwin Mitchell LLP for its new office in Birmingham after a corporate team made a similar move earlier in the year.
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April 05, 2024
High Court Limits Use Of Confidential Info In $3.7B Asset Fight
Relatives of a dead Russian oligarch and an investment company accused of international fraud on Friday partially succeeded in obtaining an order to prevent the alleged misuse of their confidential information.
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April 05, 2024
UK Urges Delay In Claiming Pensions Until Rules Change
The U.K. tax authority has warned people to delay claiming their pensions until after Saturday, when the lifetime allowance is abolished, while the government clarifies technical changes to the legislation.
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April 05, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen the BBC sued by former Georgian defense minister David Kezerashvili, Russian businessman Ildar Sharipov file a defamation claim against the publisher of the Liverpool Echo newspaper, MEX Group Worldwide sue Barclays and NatWest, and a climbing gear company hit retailer Next with a claim of copyright infringement. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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April 05, 2024
6 Questions For Paul Hastings' Stuart Alford KC
Paul Hastings LLP's new partner, Stuart Alford KC, is a former senior official at the Serious Fraud Office and has worked at two heavyweight U.S. firms, Kirkland & Ellis and Latham & Watkins. Here, he talks to Law360 about his career and about white-collar crime.
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April 05, 2024
18 Crime Gangs Specialize In VAT Fraud, Europol Says
Eighteen major criminal gangs in the European Union specialize in value-added tax fraud, having end-to-end control over the entire criminal process, the EU's law enforcement agency said Friday.
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April 05, 2024
Allens-Guided Experian To Acquire Peer Illion For $540M
Experian PLC has agreed to buy Australasian rival credit analyst illion for up to $820 million Australian dollars ($540 million), as the Ireland-based global financial data specialist moves to bolster its presence in the region's growing credit reporting market.
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April 05, 2024
Retired Rabbi To Return £2.3M To Charities After NCA Probe
A retired rabbi will return £2.35 million ($3 million) to two charities after he kept the money rather than distribute it for its intended legitimate causes, the National Crime Agency said on Friday.
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April 05, 2024
UK Pension Schemes Maintain Near-Record Surpluses
The aggregate surplus of the U.K.'s defined benefit pension sector remained at near-record levels of around £151 billion ($190.8 billion) in March, a consultancy has said.
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April 19, 2024
Fieldfisher Expands Pensions Practice With 4 PwC Hires
European law firm Fieldfisher LLP has announced it is bolstering its U.K. pensions practice by hiring a partner, two directors and an associate from PwC UK.
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April 04, 2024
UK Billionaire Lewis Avoids Prison For Insider Trading
A New York federal judge on Thursday sentenced British billionaire Joe Lewis to three years of probation for feeding his girlfriend and private-jet pilots nonpublic stock tips about his private equity firm's portfolio companies, saying a prison term would put the 87-year-old at "serious risk" of death.
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April 04, 2024
Mayer Brown Adds Former KPMG Tax Specialist In London
Mayer Brown has added a former KPMG tax professional to its London office to advise clients on asset management and fund matters in the U.S., Europe and the Middle East, the firm announced.
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April 04, 2024
Investors Hit Agent For £2.3M Over Failed Care Home Scheme
Care home investors have sued an investment agent for £2.3 million ($2.9 million) in a London court over claims they promoted a "fundamentally flawed" property development scheme as a safe and reliable investment.
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April 04, 2024
Law Firm Defeats Adviser's Unfair Redundancy Claim
A Scottish law firm didn't unfairly cull one of its financial advisers during a redundancy process because bosses scored candidates with a reasonable checklist, an employment tribunal has ruled.
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April 04, 2024
Insurer Wants Greater Flexibility On State Pension Age
The U.K. government should explore giving Britons more choice over when they can start claiming their state pension amid concerns over increases to the official retirement age, insurer Aegon said Thursday.
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April 04, 2024
Pillsbury's New UK White Collar Chief Eyes Success In London
Former Serious Fraud Office "powerhouse" Audrey Koh is in the building, and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman says it now has the tools to launch its white-collar and corporate investigations practice in London. Here, Koh and managing partner Matthew Oresman survey the legal landscape.
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April 04, 2024
FCA To Claw Back £1.6M From Fund Manager For Investors
The Financial Conduct Authority said on Thursday that it has won court approval to take £1.6 million ($2 million) from fund manager Argento Wealth and its only director, who promoted two allegedly unlawful investment schemes.
Expert Analysis
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Report Can Aid With Sustainable Finance Disclosure Filings
The European Supervisory Authorities recently issued a report on companies' consideration of the principal adverse impacts of their investment decisions on sustainability factors, providing examples of good and bad disclosure practices under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, which firms should note in their future reporting, say lawyers at Debevoise.
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Protecting The Arbitral Process In Russia-Related Disputes
Four recent High Court and Court of Appeal rulings concerning anti-suit injunction claims illustrate that companies exposed to litigation risk in Russia may need to carefully consider how to best protect their interests and the arbitral process with regard to a Russian counterparty, say lawyers at Linklaters.
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Audit Reform Takeaways After Record KPMG Fine
The Financial Reporting Council’s recent £21 million fine against KPMG for its Carillion audit work failures is representative of the agency’s increasing proactivity in policing audit quality, and brings to light the U.K. government’s slow-moving but ongoing efforts to majorly reform audit sector regulations, says Paul Brehony at Signature Litigation.
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RSA Insurance Ruling Clarifies Definition Of 'Insured Loss'
A London appeals court's recent ruling in Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance v. Tughans, that the insurer must provide coverage for a liability that included the law firm's fees, shows that a claim for the recovery of fees paid to a firm can constitute an insured loss, say James Roberts and Sophia Hanif at Clyde & Co.
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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.