Three recent cases act as a reminder that the CPS, HMRC and NCA, as well as the SFO, are actively enforcing the UK Bribery Act and conducting cross-border investigations. Two of the cases summarised below also show a focus on the demand side of bribery (i.e. suspected offences of individuals receiving or requesting a bribe … Continue Reading
Summary There has been a recent trend of greater regulatory enforcement for international companies that “carry on a business (or part of a business) in the UK”. We have set out in this article the relevant UK legislation and authorities that can enforce against international companies, with a particular focus on how these may apply … Continue Reading
Following an 18-month consultation process, on 10 June 2022, the UK Law Commission published a lengthy options paper (here with a summary here) for the UK Government on how it can improve the law to ensure that corporates are effectively held to account for committing serious crimes (the Options Paper). This article sets out the … Continue Reading
The onset of the pandemic in March 2020 forced financial institutions (FIs) across the world to change their working practices. Large numbers of employees moved from working in an office five days a week to working from home as countries locked down. Today, it appears unlikely that FIs will return to their previous working models … Continue Reading
The UK and US white-collar crime teams have again authored the chapter Production of Information to the Authorities in the sixth and latest edition of Global Investigations Review – The Practitioner’s Guide to Global Investigations. Information requests from regulators continue to raise a host of complex legal and practical issues for entities and individuals. The chapter sets … Continue Reading
Since the pandemic began in March 2020, there has been a rise in fraudulent behaviour as fraudsters look to take advantage of members of the public and financial institutions (FIs). Phishing, text scams and small-scale fraudulent activity targeting the British public were up 285% in the first half of 2021; HM Revenue and Customs estimates … Continue Reading
As 2021 draws to a close, we look ahead to the trends and new requirements that we may see over the next twelve months for financial institutions (FIs) in the white collar crime sphere as regulators, legislators and individuals continue to adapt to the pandemic and prevailing public opinion. 1. An increase in fraud-related investigations … Continue Reading
The High Court has recently held that a forensic report prepared as part of an internal investigation was not protected by litigation privilege. In The State of Qatar v Banque Havilland [2021] EWHC 2172 (Comm), David Edwards QC ordered the report and associated working papers within the defendant’s control to be disclosed on the basis … Continue Reading
On 25 May 2021, the National Crime Agency (NCA) published its national strategic assessment of serious and organised crime. Compared to 2020, the NCA concludes that the threat to the UK in respect of bribery and corruption has increased dramatically. Reasons for this include both the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit. Key takeaways from the report … Continue Reading
On 28 April 2021, the SFO published the statement of facts relating to the DPA that it agreed with Serco Geografix Limited (SGL) back in July 2019. The publication was made possible as a result of the ending of the trial of two former Serco directors, which collapsed this week as a result of issues … Continue Reading
The prosecution of two former Serco executives by the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) collapsed earlier today after failures in the SFO’s disclosure process. The SFO applied to adjourn the trial – which began on 30 March – in order to resolve those issues, but the application was refused and the jury was directed to … Continue Reading
Information requests from regulators can raise a host of complex legal and practical issues for entities and individuals. Our experts in this field have set out the key considerations around the production of information to UK and US regulators, including information-gathering powers, privilege issues and increased global data sharing. Information-gathering powers Many UK regulators have … Continue Reading
The Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Act 2021 (the Act) received royal assent on 1 March 2021 but is yet to come into force. It will enable criminal conduct by a covert human intelligence source (a CHIS) in the course of covert intelligence gathering to be authorised (a Criminal Conduct Authorisation or CCA) by … Continue Reading
More than one in four UK employees (over 9 million people) have been furloughed during the course of the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the Scheme). HMRC considers that as much as £3.5 billion has been paid out in wrong or fraudulent claims and it has received over 20,000 reports of fraudulent furlough claims from … Continue Reading
Today, 5 February 2021, the UK Supreme Court has handed down the long-awaited judgment on the extra-territoriality of the Serious Fraud Office’s powers to obtain documents. The Supreme Court held that Section 2 Notices do not have extra-territorial effect against a foreign company that does not carry on business in the UK. (R (on the … Continue Reading
On 19 November 2020, the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) UK Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU) published their 2020 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) Annual Report. The Report provides that: Between April 2019 and March 2020, the UKFIU received a record number of SARs: 573,085 SARs were submitted, which is almost a 20% increase on the previous year. … Continue Reading
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has announced that it has secured almost £1.2 million from Julio Faerman, owner of a luxury London flat which the SFO suspected to have been partly purchased with the proceeds of his criminal conduct in Brazil. According to the SFO’s press release, during ‘Operation Car Wash’, the investigation by Brazilian … Continue Reading
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) enabling the two regulators to investigate criminal cartel offences, either jointly or independently. The criminal cartel offence under English law was enshrined in the Enterprise Act 2002, which criminalised the most serious and damaging forms of … Continue Reading
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) on Friday published a chapter from its handbook, which offers “comprehensive guidance” on Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs). This is the first set of guidance specific to the SFO, and sets out how the agency will approach its use of DPAs and engage with companies where a DPA “is a prospective … Continue Reading
On 30 April 2020, the Court of Appeal handed down a judgment confirming that the test for dishonesty in criminal law is that set out by the Supreme Court in Ivey v Genting Casinos, as opposed to the much criticised Ghosh test. In practical terms, this decision means that it should prove easier to prove … Continue Reading
In a speech earlier this week Lisa Osofsky announced that the SFO will shortly publish guidance on its expectations in relation to self-reporting and cooperation. The speech suggested that waiver of privilege over internal investigations material will be seen by the SFO as a strong indicator of, if not a precondition to, cooperation for the purposes … Continue Reading
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 Activity Reports (SARs) lead … Continue Reading
