In October 2019, the European Council formally adopted the Directive on the Protection of Persons who Report Breaches of Union Law (the EU Directive) aimed at providing enhanced protection to whistleblowers. The EU Directive will now be formally signed and published, and EU member states will have until the end of 2021 to incorporate
First Data Access Agreement under the CLOUD Act signed by UK and US
On 3 October 2019, the UK and US governments signed the first bilateral Data Access Agreement (the Agreement) under the US Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act 2018 (CLOUD Act) and the UK Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Act 2019.
The Agreement seeks to facilitate faster and more direct access by each
The SFO publishes Cooperation Guidance: expecting too much and offering too little?
Earlier this month, the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) published its Corporate Cooperation Guidance (the Guidance), providing a list of “good practices” it expects from companies seeking to obtain a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA).
The Director of the SFO has said that the Guidance would provide “added
Court approves first-of-its kind “Group” DPA: five key points
On 4 July 2019, the UK’s fifth Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) was approved. The DPA is between the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Serco Geografix Limited (SGL), a subsidiary of Serco Group PLC, and relates to fraud and false accounting offences.
The offences relate to a scheme to dishonestly mislead the Ministry of Justice (MoJ)
High Court’s judgment provides insight on how banks deal with suspicions of money laundering activities
On 8 July 2019, in the case of N v the Royal Bank of Scotland plc, the High Court (the Court) handed down a judgment which provides guidance on how banks respond to alleged money laundering activities.
N, an authorised payment institution, issued proceedings for an interim mandatory injunction against the bank after it
UK Government releases final Report on Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015
On 22 May 2019, the UK Government presented to Parliament its final Report following the conclusion of the Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (the “Act”). The Independent Review was launched in July 2018 by Frank Field MP, Maria Miller MP and Baroness Butler-Sloss. The Review focused on the following four areas relevant
First-Tier Tax Tribunal held that third party notices have extra-territorial effect
The First-Tier Tax Tribunal (FTT) has recently held that HMRC can issue third party information notices to non-UK residents under paragraph 2 of Schedule 36 to the Finance Act 2008 (Schedule 36).
The FTT in Mr and Mrs PQ v HMRC[1] held that the residency status of individuals will not in itself determine HMRC’s
London Metal Exchange launches consultation on new responsible sourcing standards for all traded metals
On 23 April, the London Metal Exchange (LME) launched a formal market-wide consultation on the introduction of responsible sourcing standards for all traded metals.
Under the new rules, all LME listed brands will be required to undertake a phased approach, starting with a Red Flag Assessment based on the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises by
EU Parliament approves new EU-wide rules to protect whistleblowers
On 17 April, the European Parliament adopted new rules to protect whistleblowers.
The rules are designed to encourage the reporting of breaches of EU law by offering to whistleblowers EU-wide protection from dismissal, demotion and other forms of retaliation in areas including public procurement, financial services, money laundering, product and transport safety, nuclear safety, public
Review of the UK Bribery Act 2010 – House of Lords Committee publishes Post-Legislative Scrutiny Report
Earlier this month, the House of Lords Select Committee (the Committee) on the Bribery Act 2010 published its Post-Legislative Scrutiny Report.
The Report provides a useful summary of prosecutions under the Bribery Act and the debate surrounding “adequate” and “reasonable” procedures, and offers insight into the limited extent to which Suspicious