The long-awaited Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act received Royal Assent on 26 October. This represents a significant turning point for the law on corporate criminal liability in the UK, and has been welcomed by...more
11/10/2023
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Entities ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Criminal Liability ,
Failure to Prevent ,
Financial Crimes ,
Fraud ,
Investigations ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
UK ,
UK Bribery Act ,
White Collar Crimes
After several years of discussion and consultation, the UK Government now appears to be close to reforming the law on corporate criminal liability via the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill. These changes, if...more
The European Commission has published a proposed Directive which, building on measures already in place, would require member states to incorporate uniform anti-bribery measures into their laws. Whilst most EU member states...more
5/18/2023
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Liability ,
Corruption ,
EU ,
EU Directive ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Member State ,
UK ,
UK Bribery Act
The UK's second economic crime plan builds on the previous plan (2019-2022) and addresses issues that have risen to the fore i.e. the dramatic increase in fraud, the new sanctions landscape, reform of corporate criminal...more
On 10 June, the Law Commission published its long awaited Options Paper, with proposals on reforming corporate criminal liability in England and Wales, following the launch of its discussion paper in June 2021...more
Earlier this summer, the Law Commission published its long awaited proposals on reforming corporate criminal liability in England and Wales (the "Options Paper"), following the launch of its discussion paper in June 2021....more
Earlier this summer, the Law Commission published its long awaited proposals on reforming corporate criminal liability in England and Wales (the "Options Paper"), following the launch of its discussion paper in June 2021....more
On 10 June, the Law Commission published its long awaited proposals on reforming corporate criminal liability in England and Wales (the "Options Paper"), following the launch of its discussion paper in June 2021. Whilst the...more
There is no doubt 2022 has signalled a renewed focus on beneficial ownership transparency. White & Case partners Jonah Anderson and Anneka Randhawa, and associate Laura Higgins have collaborated with Hannah Lilley and Michael...more
4/5/2022
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Disclosure ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
FATF ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
UK
On 1 March 2022, the UK Government introduced into Parliament the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill (the "Bill"). The draft legislation contains a number of measures designed to increase transparency and give...more
Key considerations around bribery and corruption risks, as the mining & metals sector is gaining critical momentum in the world's energy transition toward a low-carbon future.
Mining & metals in a low-carbon world -
The...more
9/21/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Bribery ,
Carbon Capture and Sequestration ,
Consumers ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corruption ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Green Energy ,
Investors ,
Lenders ,
Metals ,
Minerals ,
Mining ,
Risk Factors ,
Shareholders ,
Sustainability ,
Third-Party ,
UK ,
World Bank
On 1 July 2021, it will have been ten years since the Bribery Act came into force. The Act is widely considered to have been a pioneering piece of legislation. In addition to having raised the standard for anti-bribery and...more
On 26 April 2021, the UK government brought into force a new sanctions regime, designed to target individuals involved in serious corruption and prevent them from entering the UK or using the UK financial system. To date, 22...more
Much has been made of the Supreme Court's decision earlier this month in KBR, Inc. v Director of the Serious Fraud Office, in which it confirmed the limits on UK authorities' reach overseas in anti-corruption investigations....more
2/24/2021
/ Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Justice Act ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Financial Crimes ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Foreign Jurisdictions ,
KBR (formerly Kellogg Brown & Root) ,
Multinationals ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
UK ,
UK Supreme Court
The UK furlough scheme, rolled out in haste earlier this year, has been a lifesaver for many businesses and households that have used the scheme to stay afloat. The furlough scheme has so far cost the UK in excess of £35...more
UK law enforcement can now obtain an order against a person in or operating in the US for the production of or access to electronic data under a new ‘landmark’ US-UK data sharing agreement.
The agreement has been heralded...more
6/19/2020
/ CLOUD Act ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Document Productions ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
International Data Transfers ,
Law Enforcement ,
Overseas Production Order (OPO) ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) ,
UK
The SFO faced a challenging 2019, with some high-profile acquittals, dropped investigations and new cases which were widely perceived as relatively underwhelming. We look back at the last 12 months, and set out what might be...more
1/8/2020
/ Acquittals ,
Barclays ,
Civil Liability ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Executives ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Evidentiary Standards ,
Fraud ,
National Crime Agency (NCA) ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
UK
The approach of the Serious Fraud Office (the “SFO”) to compelled interviews is a longstanding source of frustration for criminal defence lawyers. The beginning of Lisa Osofsky’s tenure as Director and the introduction of...more
11/21/2019
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Justice Act ,
Fraud ,
Interviews ,
Legal Professional Privilege ,
Legal Representatives ,
Motion to Compel ,
Privileged Documents ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
UK
Is there a point at which co-operation becomes capitulation? Is there a danger inherent in co-operating without the guarantee of a favourable outcome for doing so?...more
Many will be aware of Agatha Christie's popular and much-adapted tale involving a witness for the prosecution whose evidence is undermined. But, in the real world, last month we saw the latest discrediting of an expert...more
An informant is sent into the midst of a criminal gang. He is wearing a concealed device, crudely taped to his chest. Law enforcement agents listen in from the back of an unmarked van parked inconspicuously nearby hoping to...more
6/14/2019
/ Covert Human Intelligence Source (CHIS) ,
Criminal Investigations ,
European Convention on Human Rights ,
Evidence ,
Immunity ,
Informants ,
Organized Crime ,
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) ,
Sentence Reduction ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (SOCPA) ,
UK ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wiretapping