Photo of David Harris (UK)

David Harris (UK)

Introduction

On 6 November 2024 the UK government published its long-anticipated guidance on the failure to prevent fraud offence (the Guidance).

The new offence will come into force in September 2025. It will apply both to UK and to non-UK organisations, where there is some nexus to the UK. The only defence for an

On 6 November 2024 the UK government published its long-awaited guidance (the Guidance)  on the new offence of failure to prevent fraud (here) and confirmed the offence will be in force from 1 September 2025.

Under the new offence an organisation (whether or not it is a UK organisation) may be criminally

The UK government has today published its long-awaited guidance to organisations on the new offence of failure to prevent fraud (here) and confirmed the offence will be in force from 1 September 2025.

Under the new offence an organisation (whether or not it is a UK organisation) may be criminally liable where an

The resolution of two sanctions-related investigations over the last month by both the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) could signal the start of the anticipated increase in UK enforcement in respect of failings relating to financial sanctions systems and controls (in the case of

Following on from the UK Financial Reporting Council (FRC) publishing its plan and budget for 2024-25 earlier this year, the King’s Speech in July signalled that the long-awaited transition of the FRC to a new Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority could now be firmly on the horizon. In an effort to strengthen audit

As the FinTech industry continues to experience increased regulation across multiple jurisdictions, the focus of sanctions authorities is turning to decentralised finance (DeFi) and those operating in the crypto space. In the US we have seen a wave of recent enforcement actions against participants in the crypto sector and strong statements from authorities

In March 2022, a year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Treasury Committee published a report regarding the development, implementation and impact of economic sanctions on Russia (the 2022 Report).  In brief, the 2022 Report found that:

  • Despite its own production of
  • With a record number of enforcement cases resolved in recent years, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is continuing to show its determination to hold firms and individuals to account for serious accounting and audit failures. In our latest briefing, we set out five key themes for relevant firms and individuals to be aware

    The UK’s Industry and Economic Security Minister, Nusrat Ghani, today announced the creation of a new civil enforcement unit, the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation (OTSI). OTSI is expected to become operational early next year, and will focus on the civil enforcement of trade sanctions, including in relation to the circumvention or evasion

    Introduction

    As anticipated in our previous horizon scan (see here), the end of 2023 has brought about significant developments in financial crime enforcement and a real focus on fraud. Looking ahead to 2024, we predict that developments affecting organisations doing business in the UK will include:

    1. a focus from organisations on fraud, in particular