During the week of the G7 Summit, both the U.S. and UK issued a new round of Russia-related sanctions as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters its 28th month. On June 12, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of...more
6/19/2024
/ Economic Sanctions ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
G7 ,
Military Conflict ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
UK ,
Ukraine
Greenwashing remains at the top of enforcement agendas in 2024. Marketing products and services as “green” and “sustainable” is a common practice and seen as an important way to attract the attention of environmentally...more
The U.S., EU and UK have imposed significant new sanctions and are stepping up enforcement against sanctions evaders on the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On February 23, 2024, the U.S....more
2/28/2024
/ Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Foreign Trade Regulations ,
Military Conflict ,
Russia ,
Sanction Violations ,
UK ,
Ukraine ,
Vladimir Putin ,
White Collar Crimes
On October 17, 2023, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it had opened an investigation into a distributor of heating and insulation products, following allegations that it had made misleading claims...more
In September 2023, the UK’s Institute of Directors (IoD) announced its broad support for changes to the UK Corporate Governance Code proposed by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). The FRC’s proposed revisions seek to...more
In August 2023, the UK pensions regulator’s climate and sustainability lead, Mark Hill, authored an article setting out how trustees can improve the climate-scenario analyses used by their schemes, in order to make them more...more
The Association of British Insurers published guidance (the Action on Nature Guide) setting out what insurers and long-term savings providers can do to help prevent biodiversity loss in the UK and become more “nature...more
On July 5, an industry-led working group convened by the UK’s financial regulator published a draft voluntary code of conduct for ESG data and ratings providers (the Code). The Code would apply to all companies based in the...more
In May 2023, Global Feedback, an environmental advocacy group based in the UK and the Netherlands, announced that it had filed legal proceedings against the UK government, claiming that it failed to adequately assess the...more
6/27/2023
/ Agribusiness ,
Australia ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Impact Statements ,
Exports ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Imports ,
Popular ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
UK
A review by The Pensions Regulator (TPR) of the published annual climate reports of more than 71 UK pension schemes found several areas where improvement is needed as well as emerging “good practices.”...more
A new report by professional services firm EY has found that only 5% of FTSE 100 companies have disclosed “credible” and sufficiently detailed transition plans to become net zero by 2050....more
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that its widely-anticipated Policy Statement in response to the Sustainable Disclosure Requirements (SDRs) and investment labels consultation will now be published in Q3...more
On March 30, 2023, the UK government announced the publication of its 2023 green finance strategy, updating its earlier 2019 strategy, which is intended to mitigate climate-related risk and damage while increasing the amount...more
4/4/2023
/ Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Green Finance ,
Investment ,
IOSCO ,
New Guidance ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Risk Mitigation ,
UK
On March 15, 2023, the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, announced that nuclear power will be classified as “environmentally sustainable” in UK’s green taxonomy, “giving it access to the same investment...more
On February 22, 2023, the UK’s Pensions Regulator (TPR) announced the launch of a new initiative aimed at tightening regulation around ESG data published by trustees, as part of a wider campaign to assess whether trustees are...more
Under a proposed amendment to the UK’s Financial Services and Markets Bill, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) could be empowered to review appropriate risk weighting and capital requirements associated with a...more
On February 10, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a discussion paper titled “Finance for positive sustainable change: governance, incentives and competence in regulated firms.” The paper considers whether...more
On February 7, the British government announced the creation of four new departments, including the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. The new department has been tasked with “securing [Britain’s] long-term energy...more
On January 13, an independent report was published into the UK government’s approach to delivering on its net zero obligations. The review, commissioned by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), was...more
On January 9, the UK’s Department of Business, Energy & Industry Strategy (BEIS) launched a consultation aimed at better aligning the UK’s electricity generation market with the UK government’s net zero targets, including a...more
1/13/2023
/ BEIS ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Electric Generation Suppliers ,
Energy Policy ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Infrastructure ,
Oil & Gas ,
Power Plants ,
Regulatory Reform ,
UK
On 25 November, the High Court of England and Wales ruled in a significant decision that suspected proceeds of crime linked to unnamed individuals must be transferred to the National Crime Agency (NCA). The funds were held by...more
12/7/2022
/ Banks ,
Barclays ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Proceeds ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Fraud ,
National Crime Agency (NCA) ,
National Economic Crime Center (NECC) ,
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) ,
UK ,
White Collar Crimes
Summary -
From 15 June 2022, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (“OFSI”) has the power to issue monetary penalties for breaches of financial sanctions on a strict liability basis. The newly-published...more
It’s been just over a month since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, and, along with the atrocities of the war hitting the headlines, a whole host of countries, led by the United States, United Kingdom and European...more
Summary -
In a recent judgment (Bloomberg LP v ZXC [2022] UKSC 5), the UK Supreme Court confirmed that suspects subject to a criminal investigation are entitled, as a general rule, to a reasonable expectation of privacy...more
The UK Serious Fraud Office (the “SFO”) has reached a £1.2 million civil recovery settlement with Julio Faerman, a Brazilian national linked to the sprawling “Operation Car Wash” investigation involving the Brazilian...more
11/16/2020
/ Bribery ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corruption ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Freezing Order ,
Kickbacks ,
Oil & Gas ,
Petrobras ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
UK ,
White Collar Crimes