The ruling propels UK law enforcement to increase its investigative powers under POCA, and businesses to enhance their supply chain due diligence.
On 27 June 2024, the UK Court of Appeal found that the National Crime...more
7/9/2024
/ China ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Due Diligence ,
Human Rights ,
Imports ,
Law Enforcement ,
National Crime Agency (NCA) ,
Prisoners ,
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) ,
Supply Chain ,
UK ,
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)
The Serious Fraud Office’s strategy for 2024 to 2029 indicates aspiration to be a more effective agency and to incentivise personnel.
On 18 April 2024, the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) published an ambitious, albeit...more
4/23/2024
/ Bribery ,
Cooperation ,
Corruption ,
Declination ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Financial Action Task Force ,
Fraud ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
OECD ,
Pilot Programs ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan ,
UK ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
Changing market dynamics have led buyers to assess available options to address post-closing target company issues.
Amid the buoyant market of 2021 and early 2022, compressed deal timelines and frenzied competition...more
5/12/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Commercial Insurance Policies ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Terms ,
Due Diligence ,
Financial Statements ,
Fraud ,
Indemnity Insurance ,
Insurance Claims ,
Mergers ,
Post-Closing Rights ,
Risk Assessment ,
Target Company ,
Warranty Insurance
Greater focus on strong corporate governance and transparency is placing company directors in the UK and elsewhere under growing scrutiny and increased risk of individual civil and criminal liability. As new case law and...more
4/5/2023
/ Board of Directors ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Criminal Liability ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Investors ,
Personal Liability ,
Portfolio Companies ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Firms ,
Risk Management ,
Transparency
A court recently found that UK authorities did not fetter their discretion by not investigating general cotton imports potentially produced by the forced labour of Uyghur people in China.
On 20 January 2023, the High...more
The UK government is taking further measures to tackle economic crime in the UK, reforming its corporate register, and giving extra powers to the Serious Fraud Office.
The UK has published the new Economic Crime and...more
9/28/2022
/ Corporate Crimes ,
Cryptoassets ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Crimes ,
Limited Partnerships ,
Person with Significant Control (PSC Register) ,
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) ,
Russia ,
Transparency ,
UK ,
Ukraine ,
Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs)
The proposal outlines 10 possible ways to strengthen corporate liability by both criminal and civil law reforms.
On 10 June 2022 the Law Commission published an eagerly anticipated set of proposals (the Options Paper) to...more
A recent report concluded that modern slavery considerations are still not a mainstream concern for many companies.
In April 2022, the Financial Reporting Council, the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, and Lancaster...more
Two cases illustrate the narrow scope of application for exceptions to the without prejudice rule of legal privilege.
Background -
In two recent judgments, the High Court found exception to the ‘without prejudice’ rule...more
The Court narrowly interprets dominant purpose to exempt general tax advice from legal privilege.
In Financial Reporting Council Ltd v Frasers Group Plc (formerly Sports Direct International Plc) [2020] EWHC 2607 (Ch), the...more
The UK government continues to prioritise combatting modern slavery risks while also extending reporting deadlines amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
On 20 April 2020, the UK government published guidance for companies on how to...more
The Court ruled on the “dominant purpose” test and offered guidance on the status of multiparty emails, and attachments.
Two recent Court of Appeal judgments have sought to clarify, and offer practical guidance relating...more
Recent judgments help to clarify purpose and threshold of unexplained wealth orders.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) has had a mixed start to 2020, with appeals heard on unexplained wealth orders (UWOs) testing the new...more
Litigation privilege and the circumstances in which courts will inspect documents over which privilege has been claimed.
In a significant decision, the English Court of Appeal has restricted the scope of litigation...more
New director Lisa Osofsky confirms her focus on cross-border and corporate cooperation.
On 3 September 2018, in her first speech, after only one week as head of the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Lisa Osofsky laid out her...more
A new UK policy establishes a commitment to providing victims of overseas bribery with compensation; however, important questions remain that will impact implementation.
The UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the Crown...more
6/18/2018
/ Bribery ,
Costa Rica ,
Criminal Proceeds ,
Cross-Border ,
Financial Crimes ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Just Compensation ,
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) ,
Restitution ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
UK
New director Lisa Osofsky’s cross-border and corporate experience may lead the SFO in a fresh direction.
The announcement that Lisa Osofsky has been appointed as Director of the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) likely...more
The English Court of Appeal provides further guidance, approving ENRC, on when litigation privilege will not apply to information gathering materials.
The English Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) has ruled that...more
The decision indicates that company counsel should consider early how best to anticipate challenges to privilege claims over investigation materials.
Introduction -
A recent English High Court decision has important...more
The English High Court has reconfirmed that litigation privilege can apply to information gathering in internal investigations. Specifically, lawyers must have engaged in the information gathering for the dominant purpose of...more
The UK Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that the criminal dishonesty test in R v Ghosh is wrong and that courts should no longer follow this test. The recent decision in Ivey v Genting Casinos clarifies that the test for...more
The UK’s growing focus on corporate criminal liability was seen in two recent pieces of news.
Last Friday the government announced a consultation on extending the reach of corporate criminal liability to additional...more
What do the new UK transparency reporting provisions mean for companies?
The UK is at the forefront of the global move to tackle human trafficking and prevent modern forms of slavery by introducing the Modern Slavery Act...more
The Modern Slavery Act 2015 comes into force next month. The UK is at the forefront of a global move to tackle human trafficking and prevent slavery in supply chains. In June the G7 leaders declared their commitment to the...more
10/1/2015
/ Companies Act ,
Distributors ,
G7 ,
Human Rights ,
Manufacturers ,
Modern Slavery Act ,
Private Equity ,
Supply Chain ,
Transparency in Supply Chains Act ,
UK ,
UK Bribery Act