Where once there was Brexit, now there is Coronavirus. In these troubled times it is difficult to look beyond the next day, but from 1 January 2021, when the post-Brexit transition period ends and the United Kingdom leaves...more
On 25 November at a sentencing hearing at Southwark Crown Court, Alstom Network UK Limited (ANUK) – a subsidiary of French rail conglomerate Alstom – was fined £15m, plus £1.4m in costs, for conspiring to make corrupt...more
12/20/2019
/ Alstom ,
Bribery ,
Corporate Fines ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Internal Investigations ,
Jury Trial ,
Remediation ,
Risk Assessment ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
Subsidiaries ,
Suspensions & Debarments ,
UK
On 7 October 2019, the European Union (the “EU”) adopted a Directive on the “protection of persons who report breaches of Union law”, which provides for the implementation of new comprehensive EU-wide rules on whistleblower...more
The UK Law Commission has published a report criticising existing anti-money laundering legislation and providing recommendations to improve the quality of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs). What should we make of these...more
On 23 January 2019 the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published Consultation Paper CP19/4 which, amongst other things, proposes to exclude the Head of the Legal function from the Senior Managers Regime (SMR). The...more
On 13 November 2018 the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published its inaugural report analysing data gathered from over 2,000 firms - including all UK-based banks and building societies - in response to the FCA’s first...more
12/5/2018
/ Banking Sector ,
Crime Statistics ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Information Reports ,
Insurance Industry ,
Iran ,
Money Laundering ,
Panama ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Russia ,
UK
On 6 September 2018 the UK High Court handed down its judgment in the application for judicial review brought by KBR Inc. (“KBR”) against the Director of the Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”). ...more
On 15 May 2018, the UK Parliamentary Treasury Select Committee heard evidence from representatives of Transparency International, Global Witness and the RUSI Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies as part of its...more
The FCA and PRA publish coordinated papers focused on risk management and governance in respect of algorithmic trading -
On 12 February 2018, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulatory...more
On 17 January 2018, the House of Lords voted against an amendment to the proposed Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill that sought to create a publicly accessible register of the beneficial ownership of companies...more
In October this year, the City of London Corporation announced plans, backed by H.M. Courts and Tribunals Service, for the construction of a state-of-the-art trial venue complex in central London, specialising in fraud and...more
Speaking on 20 September 2017, Jonathan Davidson—Director of Supervision for Retail and Authorisations at the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”)—addressed the issue of culture and conduct in financial services, in light of...more
Speaking at the 35th annual Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime, Robert Buckland QC MP, the Solicitor General for England and Wales, and David Green QC, Director of the SFO, addressed the question, “Preventing...more
9/20/2017
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Criminal Fines ,
Corporate Liability ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Financial Action Task Force ,
Financial Crimes ,
HM Treasury ,
Law Enforcement ,
Self-Reporting ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
UK
A common feature of corporate criminal disposal in the US for several decades, the use of corporate monitors in the UK in the same period has been, at best, sporadic. This was expected to change with the introduction of...more
This article considers the Law Society practice note on legal professional privilege (LPP) published on 23 February 2017, in the light of public statements by the UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) that companies under...more
On 10 April 2017, the Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (“DPA”) with Tesco Stores Limited (“Tesco Limited”), as part of which Tesco Limited will pay a £129 million financial penalty...more
On 17 January 2017, Sir Brian Leveson, the President of the Queen’s Bench Division, declared that the proposed Deferred Prosecution Agreement ("DPA") between the SFO and Rolls-Royce plc and Rolls-Royce Energy Systems Inc...more
The factual proof of a financial crime is typically found in the financial data and supporting documentation. Given the evidential obligation on investigative and prosecutorial bodies to identify, collect, verify and analyse...more
The Senior Managers and Certification Regime (the “Regime”) came into force on 7 March 2016, with the stated aim of enhancing and embedding a culture of individual responsibility and accountability within the UK’s banking...more
The approval of the Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) between the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and XYZ Limited (XYZ) by Leveson LJ on 8 July 2016 has generated much breathless commentary, not least because it is only the...more
7/19/2016
/ Anonymity ,
Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Internal Investigations ,
Popular ,
Self-Reporting ,
Sentencing ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
UK
More carrot, less stick?
On 5 April 2016, the Fraud Section of the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Criminal Division issued an Enforcement Plan and Guidance (the DOJ Guidance), setting out the steps that it is taking to...more
4/27/2016
/ Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Cooperation ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Declination ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Public Interest ,
Remediation ,
Self-Reporting ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
UK ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Yates Memorandum
March 16, 2016, saw the OECD host an Anti-Bribery Ministerial meeting in Paris to discuss how to strengthen the implementation of its Anti-Bribery Convention. In the run up to the meeting, the respective heads of Corruption...more
On 30 November 2015, Lord Justice Leveson formally approved the UK's first deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) since the legislative scheme for such arrangements came into force on 24 February 2014. The introduction of DPAs...more
In a High Court ruling on 5 November 2015, Mr. Justice Snowden helpfully reaffirmed the established precedent that legal advice privilege is not confined to telling the client the law: it may also attach to factual updates...more
The Court of Appeal reaffirms the qualified nature of legal professional privilege.
In the recent case of R v Edward Brown (formerly Latham) the Court of Appeal held that it was appropriate, in certain circumstances, to...more