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Financial Services UK
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April 25, 2024
Ex-Locke Lord Atty Loses Fight To Challenge Fraud Sentence
A London appellate court on Thursday blocked Locke Lord LLP's former banking partner from challenging his prison sentence for taking part in a £21 million ($26.2 million) Ponzi scheme.
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April 25, 2024
Standards Setter Unveils Toolbox for Central Counterparties
A global standards setter released a new toolbox Thursday to ensure that national authorities have access to adequate financial resources and tools to address the failure of central counterparties, which are essential to financial markets.
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April 25, 2024
Firms Urge Delays To 'Unclear' FCA Greenwashing Guidance
Financial companies are urging the City watchdog to slow its anti-greenwashing rule that comes in force in May as legal experts warn that it has failed to clarify all its expectations in final guidance, putting businesses that make the wrong call at risk of enforcement action.
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April 25, 2024
Hipgnosis Ditches Blackstone Bid For Concord's $1.5B Offer
Hipgnosis Songs has accepted a revised offer from its U.S. competitor Concord Chorus to buy the music rights investor for $1.5 billion, ditching Blackstone's $1.2 billion offer just days after accepting the private equity giant's deal.
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April 25, 2024
EU Parliament Gives Final Approval To AML Package
The European Parliament has given the final go-ahead to a package of laws to fight money laundering and terrorist financing, creating a single rule book and establishing a dedicated agency for the bloc.
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April 24, 2024
Ex-Autonomy GC Tells Jurors He Wanted To Be 'Helpful' To HP
Autonomy's former U.S. general counsel conceded Wednesday in the criminal trial of former CEO Michael Lynch that he told an HP lawyer he wanted to be as "helpful" as possible to the company as it was investigating Autonomy-related issues that popped up after the Silicon Valley giant purchased the British company, and that he was told he could face liability for his work at Autonomy.
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April 24, 2024
Klarna Trims Down Basque Bank's European Logo TM
Buy-now, pay-later giant Klarna has won its fight to restrict trademark registration for a Spanish bank's logo, blocking protection in a myriad of categories ranging from laundry detergent to musical instruments.
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April 24, 2024
Oligarch's Family Can't Nix €1.5B Bankruptcy Bid
The widow and a daughter of the late Russian cement oligarch Oleg Bourlakov stumbled in their global legal battle with relatives over his fortune after a London judge declined to stop €1.48 billion ($1.59 billion) bankruptcy proceedings in St. Petersburg.
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April 24, 2024
Feds Nab Latest OneCoin Plea On $35M Laundering Charge
An eighth defendant has been charged by federal prosecutors over the global OneCoin cryptocurrency scam and has pled guilty to laundering about $35 million in illicit proceeds through bank accounts he controlled in China and Hong Kong.
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April 24, 2024
Fund Manager Denies Losing Jailed Politician's Wife £8M
A fund manager has denied transferring €28 million ($30 million) from the account of an imprisoned Turkish politician's wife without her permission, claiming she gave written instructions to invest the money in emerging markets.
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April 24, 2024
EU Keeps Gibraltar, Panama, UAE On AML Blacklist
Gibraltar, Panama and the United Arab Emirates should remain on the European Union's blacklist of high-risk countries for money laundering, the European Parliament said, stopping the EU from following the lead of a global organization promoting standards for countries to fight those crimes.
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April 24, 2024
Payments Watchdog Seeks Responses On Supervision Plans
The Payment Systems Regulator said Wednesday it is opening a consultation on its approach to supervision of payment systems operators, including new principles for firms in the sector to apply.
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April 24, 2024
Osborne Clarke Guides Canada Life's £46M Lexmark Deal
Insurer Canada Life has agreed to a £46 million ($57 million) buy-in with the pension scheme of printing business Lexmark Holdings Inc. in a transaction guided by Osborne Clarke LLP.
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April 24, 2024
PRA Asks Banks To Review Private Equity Exposure
The Prudential Regulation Authority asked banks to review and assess their current practices to ensure they align with the regulator's expectations for effective risk management concerning private equity-linked credit and counterparty exposures.
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April 24, 2024
EU Says 3 States Aren't Correctly Following AML Law
The European Commission said Wednesday that three European Union countries — Ireland, France and Latvia — aren't correctly implementing the bloc's laws against money laundering, meaning that the countries now have two months to correct the shortcomings.
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April 24, 2024
Law Firm Ordered To Repay Couple £194K For Loan Breach
A court has ordered a law firm to reimburse a married couple at least £194,000 ($241,000) after finding that it had failed to adhere to the terms of two loan agreements the pair provided to help to fund its working capital and cover general business expenses.
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April 23, 2024
Ex-Autonomy Tech Exec Doubted 'Bizarre' $6M Deal, Jury Told
Autonomy's ex-chief technology officer testified Tuesday in the California federal fraud trial of former CEO Michael Lynch that he had concerns about Autonomy's "bizarre" 2010 deal to sell $6 million in repackaged hardware, which prosecutors allege was never delivered and was only used to artificially inflate Autonomy's revenues.
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April 23, 2024
RGL Confirms Woodford Claim Against Hargreaves Lansdown
RGL Group confirmed Tuesday it is pursuing a fresh claim against investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown over the collapse of Woodford Equity Investment Fund.
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April 23, 2024
FCA To Return £530K To Investors From Deposit-Taking Scam
The Financial Conduct Authority said Tuesday it will return £533,000 ($664,000) in recovered money to investors who were hit by a deposit scam run through two companies, including a soccer league operator.
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April 23, 2024
FCA Charges Man With Fraud In £2.7M Investment Scheme
The Financial Conduct Authority said Tuesday that it had charged a British man with fraud after he hid "significant losses" from investors as part of a £2.67 million ($3.33 million) scheme trading on foreign exchange markets.
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April 23, 2024
Bank Of Ireland Used Deceit To Loan Millions, Investor Claims
Bank of Ireland allegedly deceived a real estate investment business into borrowing millions from it by giving inflated property evaluations based on old estimates that were £1.2 million ($1.5 million) higher than up-to-date figures, according to a London court filing.
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April 23, 2024
Investment Fund Accuses Repository Of Dishonesty
A U.K. investment fund has accused a registered securitization repository of acting dishonestly and unlawfully when it repeatedly refused to provide the fund's subsidiary access to data critical to help it make informed decisions about future investments.
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April 23, 2024
FCA Clarifies Greenwashing Rule, Extends ESG regime
The Financial Conduct Authority has published clarifying final guidance on its anti-greenwashing rule for all regulated firms, saying on Tuesday that it will also extend its broader sustainability regime to include portfolio managers.
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April 23, 2024
Top UK Court Blocks Gazprom Unit's Russian UniCredit Claim
Britain's highest court upheld an injunction on Tuesday barring a Gazprom subsidiary from pursuing a €450 million ($480 million) claim against UniCredit Bank AG in Russia after the German lender withheld financing for the construction of gas processing plants because of sanctions.
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April 22, 2024
Finance Biz. Sues Ex-Contractor For £1.6M Over Stolen Clients
A finance company has accused a self-employed adviser of breaching obligations after exiting the company and taking more than a hundred customers worth £1.6 million ($1.9 million) of future income with her to a competitor.
Expert Analysis
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How Employers Can Support Neurodiversity In The Workplace
A recent run of cases emphasize employers' duties to make reasonable adjustments for neurodiverse employees under the Equalities Act, illustrating the importance of investing in staff education and listening to neurodivergent workers to improve recruitment, retention and productivity in the workplace, say Anna Henderson and Tim Leaver at Herbert Smith.
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What The Anti-Coercion Instrument Will Bring To The EU
Vassilis Akritidis and Jean-Baptiste Blancardi at Crowell & Moring discuss why the European Union recently adopted a report on the anti-coercion instrument to reform its trade legislation, how the instrument will be used to respond to unfair economic pressure from third countries, and how businesses can impact the EU's decision making.
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Why FCA Crypto Rules Need To Align With UK Gov't Aims
There is a critical need for cryptocurrency regulations that protect consumers while supporting the government's aim to make the U.K. a crypto hub, but the Financial Conduct Authority’s recently effective rules on financial promotion of crypto-assets bring an unintended risk that legitimate firms will be driven out of the market, says Laura Navarathnam at the Crypto Council for Innovation.
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CMA Report On AI May Lead to Greater Competition Control
The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority’s recent report on artificial intelligence foundation models is a sign that developers could face increased merger control and antitrust enforcement, and businesses should be mindful of these views to ensure that their models do not come under investigation, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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UK Mozambique Ruling Will Have Int'l Ramifications
The recent U.K. Supreme Court judgment in Mozambique v. Privinvest considered for the first time stay proceedings under the Arbitration Act, offering guidance on whether claims are a "matter" within the scope of an arbitration clause, which could become a point of reference for foreign courts in the future, say lawyers at Herbert Smith.
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Recent Trends In European ESG-Related Shareholder Activism
New ESG reporting standards in the European Union, as well as recent climate change, board diversity and human rights cases, illustrate how shareholder activism may become more prominent in years to come as regulation and investor engagement continues to strengthen, say lawyers at Debevoise.
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Audit Regulator Review Has Tips On Climate Metric Reporting
The U.K. Financial Reporting Council’s recent review of climate-related metrics and targets in listed companies’ annual reports is an extremely useful guide for issuers considering the quality of their disclosure reporting, with a number of key areas identified as central to further improvement, say lawyers at Bryan Cave.
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What Russia Case Reveals About UK Sanctions Enforcement
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation recently issued its first enforcement action under the U.K.'s expanded Russia sanctions against a relatively small company for a moderately severe breach — a decision that highlights several questions about the watchdog’s purpose and methods, say Maia Cohen-Lask and Tasha Benkhadra at Corker Binning.
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Breaking Down The UK's Draft Updates To Prospectus Regime
While there still may be changes, the U.K.'s near-final draft statutory instrument to update and in some parts replace the current on-shored EU prospectus regime is likely to represent a significant overhaul of the existing regime and may make U.K. capital markets a more attractive venue for listings for issuers, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Italy's Bank-Profits Tax Plan May Become Model For Eurozone
If Italy's recently proposed 40% bank-profits tax helps keep its populist coalition government in power, notwithstanding the European Central Bank's legal challenges, the passage could spark a windfall tax trend across the eurozone and even in the U.K., says Cris Cicala at Stinson.
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Bitcoin Case Highlights Advanced Age Of UK's IP Law
An appellate court's recent decision in a case involving the copyright of bitcoin's file format emphasizes the role of copyright protection in software, and also the challenges of applying decades-old laws to new technologies, say Marianna Foerg and Ben Bell at Potter Clarkson.
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Accountability Is Key To Preventing Miscarriages Of Justice
The wrongful conviction of Andrew Malkinson and other recent cases show that in order to avoid future miscarriages of justice, there needs to be a fundamental reevaluation of how investigators, prosecutors and the Criminal Cases Review Commission operate, prioritizing stronger penalties and increased funding, say Thomas Walford at Expert Evidence International and policy analyst Gerald Frost.
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4 Compliance Considerations Under FCA Consumer Duty
Following the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority's recent introduction of the new consumer duty regime, firms will need to be mindful of data protection implications when managing their compliance with the duty and data protection legislation, say lawyers at Bird & Bird.
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What Could Come Of CFPB, EU Consumer Finance Collab
A recent joint statement from the European Commission and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau focused on how technology is affecting consumers of financial services, potentially recognizing that legal protections are lacking because tech regulations lag behind its development, say attorneys at DLA Piper.
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6 Key Factors For Successful Cross-Border Dispute Mediation
The European landscape of cross-border disputes diverges markedly from the U.S. experience and presents unique challenges, including the amalgamation of diverse cultures and legal systems, but there are several practical steps that practitioners can take to effectively navigate the process, says Peter Kamminga at JAMS.