The UK government is moving towards introducing a new corporate criminal offence: Failure to Prevent Fraud and Money Laundering. The draft offence, contained in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill, would hold...more
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
A Court Ruling that May Resonate Across the Globe - The High Court in London recently struck down three “Unexplained Wealth Orders” that U.K. law enforcement had hoped would foil an alleged money laundering scheme by...more
Corruption Watch UK has claimed that “a company committing economic crime in the US is far more likely to be hit with criminal, civil and regulatory penalties than one in the UK.” In a hard-hitting report published on 5 March...more
Following mounting calls for reform of the UK's corporate criminal liability regime, the Government is expected to consult later this year on potential reforms, which are likely to include a new corporate offence of failing...more
The UK National Crime Agency (“NCA”) has successfully resisted a challenge to the issue of its first Unexplained Wealth Orders (“UWOs”). The victory comes shortly after the agency announced its intention to expand the use of...more
Law enforcement authorities in the U.K. have obtained a new instrument in their fight against crime. Starting Jan. 31, 2018, U.K. enforcement authorities can apply for court orders against individuals suspected of being...more
From 31 January 2018, UK enforcement authorities may apply for court orders against persons suspected of being involved in or connected to serious crime or "politically exposed persons" ("PEP") outside the European Economic...more
Despite a year of continued global political uncertainty and increasing enforcement, shareholder activism and foreign investment control activity, the 2018 outlook for Europe is positive overall. Skadden partners in the U.K.,...more
Introduction - As part of a global crackdown on tax evasion, the Criminal Finances Act 2017 (the Act) introduced a new offence. From 30 September 2017, an organisation commits a criminal offence if an employee or...more
On April 27, 2017, the United Kingdom enacted the Criminal Finances Act 2017 (the "Act"), which provides that companies and partnerships ("relevant bodies") are criminally liable if they fail to implement adequate procedures...more
The law and practice relating to financial crime and investigations is evolving fast. In the past 18 months we have seen two new Acts aimed at combatting financial crime (including the creation of two new corporate criminal...more
On 30 September 2017, Part 3 of the UK Criminal Finances Act 2017 (the “CF Act”) came into force creating new corporate offences for failing to prevent the facilitation of UK or overseas tax evasion. Similar to the standard...more
BREXIT - Brexit - EU (Withdrawal) Bill published - On 13 July, the DExEU published the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill (Bill), which: (i) repeals the ECA 1972; (ii) converts EU law into UK law where appropriate; and...more
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