Jun 30, 2022 Sanctions enforcement: $30bn of Russians’ assets frozen or seized (and the UK levies a £15,000 fine) By Neill Blundell Helen Harvey Jessica Arapu On 29 June 2022, the Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs (REPO) Task Force, a multi-national group aimed at seizing or freezing the...
Jun 15, 2022 New strict liability offence for financial sanctions comes into force today, amongst others By Neill Blundell Francis Bond Jessica Arapu Following the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022’s expedited passage through Parliament in March 2022, the Office of...
Jul 23, 2021 A prosecutor’s dozen: the SFO announce 11th and 12th DPAs By Neill Blundell Max Hobbs The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has entered into two new deferred prosecution agreement (DPAs), taking the total number entered into to 12...
Jul 20, 2021 The verdict’s in: the SFO publishes its 2020–2021 Annual Report By Neill Blundell The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has published its Annual Report and Accounts for 2020–2021 (the Report). The Report provides an overview...
May 12, 2021 Not so wise: the FCA imposes a new fine for anti-money laundering failings By Lorna Emson Max Hobbs The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has imposed a £178,000 fine (reduced from £236,740 to avoid serious financial hardship) on Sapien...
Dec 23, 2020 First steps to enforcing security: restrictions, crystallisation and notices By Laura Uberoi Being alive to recent developments is fundamental to successfully enforcing security and protecting your commercial interests as a...
Dec 16, 2020 FCA fines hedge fund Chief Investment Officer for market abuse and prohibits him from performing regulated activities By Dan Lavender Helen Harvey On 15 December 2020, the FCA announced it had fined a hedge fund Chief Investment Officer (CIO) £100,000 for market abuse and had...
Dec 10, 2020 United States to pass historic anti-money laundering legislation, including first register of corporate beneficial ownership By Neill Blundell Francis Bond The United States Congress is expected to pass the country’s most significant anti-money laundering legislation in decades this week,...
Sep 14, 2020 (Anti)-money laundering? The FCA has brought 0 AML prosecutions in 2020 By Neill Blundell Max Hobbs A new Freedom of Information Act request served on the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has revealed that so far in 2020 the FCA has...
Jun 18, 2020 AML enforcement: the FCA impose a significant fine on Commerzbank for AML failings By Neill Blundell Max Hobbs Commerzbank has been fined £37,805,400 for anti-money laundering failings by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which yesterday...
Feb 14, 2020 HMRC announces more investigations into the “failure to prevent” tax evasion offence By Neill Blundell Max Hobbs HMRC has released an update on its investigations of the relatively new corporate criminal offence (CCO) of failure to prevent the...
May 29, 2019 The NCA strikes back: new Unexplained Wealth Orders target even more valuable London properties By Neill Blundell Max Hobbs The National Crime Agency (NCA) has obtained a second set of Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs) aimed at London properties worth at least...
Apr 24, 2019 Everybody, freeze! Account freezing orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act By Neill Blundell Max Hobbs A new power introduced by the Criminal Finances Act 2017 (CFA) has recently been used for the first time by UK authorities: Account...
Apr 04, 2019 European Parliament adopts recommendations on tackling financial crime, tax evasion and tax avoidance By Macfarlanes The European Parliament adopted the recommendations in the report of its special committee on financial crimes, tax evasion and tax...
Mar 11, 2019 Technology and Construction Court applies key adjudication decision for the first time By Alexander Crockford My colleagues Andy Mather and Richard Rowlatt recently reported on the much discussed Court of Appeal decision in Grove Developments...