This week the DOJ published revisions to its Corporate Enforcement Policy designed to even further encourage companies to make voluntary self-disclosures of wrongdoing within their ranks, cooperate with investigations, and...more
1/20/2023
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Fraud ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy (CEP) ,
Federal Sentencing Guidelines ,
Investigations ,
Remedial Actions ,
Securities Fraud ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements
Earlier this year Dechert reported on the new Register of Overseas Entities ("ROE"), introduced in March as Part 1 of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill (the "Bill"). The Bill was enacted on 15 March 2022,...more
8/1/2022
/ Beneficial Owner ,
Financial Crimes ,
Foreign Entities ,
Foreign Investment ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Russia ,
UK ,
Ukraine ,
White Collar Crimes
When the UK Government first introduced the Online Safety Bill (the "Bill") to Parliament, it lauded the Bill as creating "world-leading online safety laws" which "marked a milestone in the fight for a new digital age". The...more
6/8/2022
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Online Platforms ,
Online Safety for Children ,
Pending Legislation ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Search Engines ,
Social Media ,
UK ,
Websites
In the early hours of 15 March 2022, following a wait of almost five years, the UK Parliament introduced into law the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act (the "Act"). The Act was fast-tracked at an...more
3/22/2022
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Corruption ,
Financial Crimes ,
Foreign Investment ,
Money Laundering ,
Pending Legislation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Standards ,
UK ,
Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs) ,
White Collar Crimes
On 1 March the Home Office introduced the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill (the "Bill"). The most significant change, introduced in Part 1 of the Bill, is the creation of a new, public "Register of Overseas...more
3/11/2022
/ Beneficial Owner ,
Buyers ,
Foreign Investment ,
Land Owners ,
Person with Significant Control (PSC Register) ,
Property Ownership ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Transparency ,
White Collar Crimes
Executive Summary - On 9 June 2021 the Law Commission published its “Corporate Criminal Liability” discussion paper (the “Paper”) and launched a public consultation (that closes on 31 August 2021). These developments signal a...more
In March 2019 Dechert reported that the Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Act 2019 (the “COPO Act”) had granted UK authorities new extra-territorial powers....more
11/25/2020
/ CLOUD Act ,
Cloud Computing ,
Cooperation Agreement ,
Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Act 2019 (the COPO Act) ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Cross-Border ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
International Litigation ,
Request for Production ,
UK
The criminal justice system in England and Wales, as in other nations, is severely impacted by Covid-19, and is under immense pressure. This extends beyond the investigation and prosecution of criminal activity surrounding...more
4/26/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Financial Crimes ,
Fraud ,
Interim Charging Protocol ,
National Crime Agency (NCA) ,
Popular ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
State of Emergency ,
UK
Key Takeaways -
The COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak has undoubtedly increased firms’ exposure to market abuse risks in a number of ways:
Due to the rapidly changing consequences of restrictions caused by COVID-19 for...more
4/7/2020
/ Business Continuity Plans ,
Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Global Market ,
Hong Kong ,
Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (HKSFC) ,
Hong Kong Stock Exchange ,
Insider Information ,
Liquidity ,
Market Abuse ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Remote Working ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SEHK ,
UK ,
United States
All forms of movement are under serious threat in the current global climate: with an estimated 1/4 of the world’s population in lock down, this unprecedented government intervention has slashed passenger demand and halted...more
3/30/2020
/ Automotive Industry ,
Aviation Industry ,
Best Practices ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cruise Ships ,
Economic Stimulus ,
EU ,
Federal Loans ,
Financial Assistance Policies ,
Government Assistance ,
Government Lockdown ,
Relief Measures ,
Risk Management ,
Shipping ,
Supply Chain ,
Transportation Industry ,
UK
The UK Home Office and the U.S. Department Of Justice (“DOJ”) have signed an agreement (the “Agreement”) which will enable British and U.S. law enforcement agencies to compel UK and U.S. cloud service providers (“CSPs”) to...more
10/10/2019
/ Bilateral Agreements ,
CLOUD Act ,
Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) ,
Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Act 2019 (the COPO Act) ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Cross-Border ,
Discovery ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Government Investigations ,
UK
The British Parliament has recently published two important post-legislative assessments of the effectiveness of the UK’s financial crime legislative framework, as well as an insight into future areas of focus....more
3/29/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Failure to Prevent ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Crimes ,
Legislative Reports ,
Ministry of Justice ,
Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ,
Person with Significant Control (PSC Register) ,
Self-Reporting ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Bribery Act ,
UK Criminal Finances Act 2017 ,
White Collar Crimes
On February 12 2019 the Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Act 2019 (the “COPO Act”) came into force in the UK. This new law gives UK authorities (including the Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) and the Financial Conduct Authority...more
3/8/2019
/ CLOUD Act ,
Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) ,
Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Act 2019 (the COPO Act) ,
Designated International Co-Operation Agreement (DICA) ,
Document Productions ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Foreign Jurisdictions ,
HMRC ,
International Litigation ,
Long Arm Statute ,
National Crime Agency (NCA) ,
Nexus ,
Overseas Production Order (OPO) ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
The Criminal Finances Act 2017 (the “Act”) represents a further significant development in the approach to the investigation and prosecution of financial crime in the UK1. The new offence of failure to prevent the...more
The UK Criminal Finances Act 2017 (the “Act”) represents a further significant development in the approach to the investigation and prosecution of financial crime in the UK. The new offence of failure to prevent the...more
6/15/2017
/ Banks ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Information Sharing ,
Money Laundering ,
Moratorium ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
UK ,
UK Criminal Finances Act 2017
Part One: "A Fistful of Tax Dollars" - A New Corporate Offence of Failure to Prevent the Facilitation of Tax Evasion..
The Criminal Finances Act 2017 represents a further significant development in the approach to the...more
Lord Justice Leveson approved Tesco Store Limited’s (“Tesco”) Deferred Prosecution Agreement (“DPA”) on 10 April 2017, making them the fourth company since November 2015 to enter into a DPA with the UK’s1 Serious Fraud Office...more
4/29/2017
/ Bribery ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Fines ,
Fraud ,
Government Investigations ,
Individual Accountability ,
Penalties ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
Shareholders ,
UK ,
UK Bribery Act
Two-thirds of large UK companies have come under cyber attack in the past year, according to the UK Government, and a quarter have been attacked at least once a month. But only half have taken any recommended actions to...more
The High Court has delivered an important judgment on the application of legal advice privilege to factual reports delivered by lawyers to their clients in the context of a regulatory investigation.
In the case of Property...more
A D.C. Circuit decision (In re Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc.) has confirmed privilege over employee statements during in-house investigations. Can the world take comfort? This article examines privilege in the context of...more
7/12/2014
/ Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cross-Border ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Internal Investigations ,
KBR (formerly Kellogg Brown & Root) ,
Legal Advice Privilege ,
Litigation Privilege ,
SFO ,
UK ,
Upjohn Warnings
From today, Deferred Prosecution Agreements (“DPA”s) will be available in the UK to the Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) and the Crown Prosecution Service (“CPS”) as a method for disposal of corporate criminal cases relating to...more
In times of austerity in Europe and America, emerging markets such as Africa, China, India, Latin America, the Middle East and CIS are increasingly offering the key opportunities for growth and investment returns for private...more
The Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) brought fraud related charges against three directors and one employee of Sustainable AgroEnergy plc (“SAE”), a subsidiary of Sustainable Growth Group (“SSG”) on 14 August 2013, as part of a...more
Expansion into both new and emerging markets is a continuing trend for companies across many industry sectors. In a number of jurisdictions, local law restricts foreign companies from establishing wholly owned subsidiaries -...more
There has been much publicity regarding tax avoidance of late in the UK. In the age of austerity, tax avoidance by companies is scruitnised by the press and is a hot topic with the public....more