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
On 19 July 2023, the UK government published proposed significant amendments to the Companies Act 2006, which would impose greater reporting requirements on large companies, including a requirement to report on material fraud. Coupled with the new failure to prevent fraud offence which we expect to come into force next year (see more here) and … Continue Reading
On Friday 25 November 2022, the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (the Bill) entered Parliament. The Committee Stage (Commons) was brought to a conclusion on Tuesday 29 November 2022. The Bill, as amended by the Public Bill Committee, was published on 30 November 2022. The Bill proposes various reforms designed to reduce economic and … Continue Reading
On 3 October 2022, the Data Access Agreement (DAA) between the UK and US (see our earlier blog here) came into force. In this blog post we look at this landmark agreement and consider its impact. What is the US-UK Data Access Agreement? Under the new agreement, on receipt of a qualifying lawful order telecommunication … Continue Reading
In this post, we summarise the new Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (the Bill) which was published on 22 September 2022 and the significant reform proposed to the role of Companies House. The Bill proposes giving Companies House improved investigation and enforcement powers and makes changes to strengthen regulators’ powers to seize and detain … Continue Reading
In recent years, the UK government has been seeking to tackle ever-growing financial crime and money laundering. In this post, we summarise the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (the Bill) published on 22 September 2022 as well the expansion of the Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) investigative powers under the Bill in an effort to … Continue Reading
Despite financial institutions in the UK and many other jurisdictions being required to have in place sophisticated bribery and corruption (ABC) systems and controls, there has been a recent increase in the number of major ABC enforcement actions involving financial institutions, as well as a significant uptick in civil disputes alleging bribery. Looking ahead, as … Continue Reading
Canadian officers and directors should take note of shifting criminal enforcement priorities in the US. In recent addresses to the ABA’s 37th National Institute on White Collar Crime, US AG Merrick Garland and Assistant AG Kenneth Polite Jr. confirmed that in prosecuting corporate crime, the US DOJ’s “first priority” is the individuals responsible for the … Continue Reading
Avis du ministère de la Justice américain sur une violation en vertu de la FCPA – est-ce que cela se produirait au Canada? En janvier, le ministère de la Justice américain (Ministère) a rendu un avis à une société américaine sur la question de savoir si le fait de payer un tiers pour la libération … Continue Reading
In January, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) issued an opinion to a US company on whether paying a third party for release of its employees would breach the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).[1] The DOJ said it would not bring charges against the company if it made a payment to prevent imminent threat to … Continue Reading
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have recently reiterated their focus on fighting corporate crime (see here and here our more detailed articles on these developments). In particular, the US authorities have: renewed their focus on holding individuals accountable for corporate crime (as well as companies); committed to … Continue Reading
