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FCA's 2024 Consumer Focus Still Has Firms Guessing

The Financial Conduct Authority shifted further toward results-based financial regulation in 2024 by requiring regulated companies to comply better with its Consumer Duty, forcing managers to make individual interpretations of the regime's often ambiguous requirements where more specific rules are missing.
January 10, 2025
Woman Who Laundered Bitcoin Fraud Proceeds Must Pay £3M

A British-Chinese woman convicted for laundering bitcoin converted from an alleged £5 billion ($6.1 billion) investment fraud must pay £3.1 million or face an additional seven years in prison, a London court judge ruled Friday.
January 10, 2025
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen legal services group RBG Holdings face a winding-up petition from founder Ian Rosenblatt amid soured talks about the group's leadership, J.P. Morgan file a fresh claim against WeRealize, retailer Asda face an intellectual property claim over a specific type of mandarin and financier Nathaniel Rothschild sue German entrepreneur Lars Windhorst and his investment vehicle Tennor International. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
January 10, 2025
Pension Funds So Far Riding Out Bond Market Volatility

Pension funds have mostly weathered the current sell-off in bond markets, experts are saying, despite fears of a repeat of the liability-driven investment crisis of two years ago.
January 10, 2025
Clifford Chance Adds 2 Fund Finance Pros From Mayer Brown

Clifford Chance LLP has hired two lending experts to join its global financial markets team in London, as the firm looks to add experience and specializations to its already strong private credit practice.
January 10, 2025
CMS Taps Tax Disputes Specialist From KPMG

CMS announced that it has appointed a former KPMG director as a partner in its London-based tax practice.
January 10, 2025
Financial Lifeboat Scheme Sets Budget Of £103.6M

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme on Friday said it expects its running costs for the upcoming financial year to be £103.6 million ($126.7 million) — a 0.5% increase on the current financial year.
January 10, 2025
Broker Arian Hit With Fine For Cum-Ex Trade Failings

The finance watchdog said Friday that it has fined broker Arian Financial LLP £289,000 ($354,000) for having inadequate systems and controls against financial crime in a cum-ex dividend trading case.
January 10, 2025
DOJ Sues To Block Amex GBT's $570M Deal For Rival CWT

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Friday seeking to block American Express Global Business Travel Inc.'s planned $570 million acquisition of corporate travel management rival CWT Holdings LLC.
January 10, 2025
NCA Has 'Pokers In The Fire' On Sanctions, Top Official Says

The effectiveness of Britain's sanctions regime should not be judged solely by court victories, according to a top U.K. law enforcement official who said there are "unrealistic" expectations about the policing of sanctions imposed in response to the war in Ukraine.
January 10, 2025
FCA Objects To Proposed Acquisition Of Payments Firm

The financial watchdog said Friday that it has issued an objection to a proposed acquisition of a small payments firm, saying the buyer had demonstrated "a serious lack of professional competence."
January 10, 2025
Investors Sue Ackland & Co. Over Negligent Property Advice

A Welsh law firm has been sued by a group of individuals over alleged breaches of duty in connection with their failed purchases of property in a development in England that collapsed before the promised residential apartments were built.
January 10, 2025
UK Audit Watchdog Outlines Plans To Boost UK Growth

The Financial Reporting Council said on Friday that it has adopted five priorities to support the Labour government's broader ambition to boost economic growth, including plans to improve investors' confidence in British companies.
January 09, 2025
Ex-Yodel Director Denies Stripping Millions Off Courier

A former director of Yodel has denied stripping over £4 million ($4.9 million) of the delivery company's assets for his own pocket under the pretext of a merger, claiming he had no involvement in money sent to a company he founded.
January 09, 2025
Ex-Deloitte Employee Revives Unfair Dismissal Claim

An ex-director at Deloitte succeeded Thursday in convincing an appeal tribunal that the Big Four accounting firm's acts of discrimination against her may have contributed to an unfair dismissal process, giving her another shot at proving that her firing was unfair.
January 09, 2025
Bitcoin Miner Can't Search Dump For £600M Hard Drive

A man who erroneously threw away a hard drive containing the private key to over £600 million ($738 million) worth of bitcoin has lost his legal bid for a local authority to allow him to search a dump for it after a judge blocked him Thursday.
January 09, 2025
UK Supermarkets Fear Higher Costs Amid Tax Changes

Supermarket companies Marks & Spencer and Tesco reported Thursday that they had high sales figures due to Christmas, but both retailers also said they expect to face higher tax costs in 2025 due to changes to National Insurance, a payroll tax used to fund social programs.
January 09, 2025
Tech Biz Says Barrister Failed To Flag Law Firm's Negligence

A tech company has accused a barrister of failing to spot his instructing law firm's alleged negligence, telling a London court that this armed the law firm with a limitation defense that cut the value of an eventual settlement.
January 09, 2025
SFO To Claw Back £1M From Solicitor Convicted Of Fraud

A lawyer who was imprisoned for 14 years for siphoning off investors' money through a fraudulent offshore "get-rich-quick" legal aid scheme will repay victims more than £1 million ($1.23 million), the Serious Fraud Office said Thursday.
January 09, 2025
Freshfields Steers £1.5B Pension Megadeal For Catering Co.

A food catering giant has offloaded £1.5 billion ($1.8 billion) of its pension liabilities to Standard Life, the insurer said Thursday, the first megadeal for the sector of 2025.
January 09, 2025
Pension Transfer Redress Falls From Rising Gilt Yields

The compensation that pension savers can claim for being poorly advised to transfer their pensions has fallen significantly — in most cases to zero — due to recent bond market fluctuations, a consultancy said Thursday.
January 09, 2025
Admiral Casino To Pay £1M For AML Regulatory Failures

Online gambling firm Admiral Casino has been hit with a £1 million ($1.2 million) penalty for failing to set up anti-money laundering protection and failures in establishing spending limits and financial checks for vulnerable customers, the Gambling Commission said Thursday.
January 08, 2025
BoE Eyes Relaxed Financial Regulation To Support Growth

The Bank of England's regulatory arm told a House of Lords Committee on Wednesday that it will reduce bank reporting requirements and enable insurers to make certain investments before regulatory approval, amid other easing of its rules in line with government growth priorities.
January 08, 2025
Loss Adjuster QuestGates Buys Insurance Investigation Biz

Loss adjuster QuestGates has said it has bought investigations specialists Brownsword Group in a move the business said improves its market share in the third-party probe sector.
January 08, 2025
JPMorgan Denies Unfairly Sacking Trader In Fraud Crackdown

Banking giant JPMorgan defended itself on Wednesday against unfair dismissal allegations from an ex-trader, denying claims that it fired the employee without a proper investigation over suspicions of fraud because it was trying to appease regulators.
January 08, 2025
Pension Trustees Warned Against Complacency On Funding

Pension trustees should not be complacent over record improvements in scheme funding positions over the coming year, a consultancy warned.

Editor's Picks

UK Draft Pay Fraud Rules Open Tricky Legal Liabilities

The government's new draft legislation, which will give banks longer to investigate suspicions of fraud before they send payments instructed by customers, will create a wave of new legal liabilities and lead to regulatory hurdles, according to lawyers.
FCA Fires Warning Shot Over City's Consumer Duty Failings

The Financial Conduct Authority has sent out a fresh warning to financial services companies highlighting how some of them are failing to comply with its Consumer Duty regime. But experts have told Law360 that the expectations are unclear.
5 Questions for Osborne Clarke Partner Nick Price

The Payment Systems Regulator is due to start forcing payment firms to reimburse victims of scams who have been tricked by a fraudster into transferring them money. Here, Law360 talks to Osborne Clarke partner Nick Price about how this new regime could mean uncertainty about compliance.

Expert Analysis

Insider Info Compliance Highlights From New FCA Guidance

The Financial Conduct Authority's recent guidance to companies on identifying inside information clarifies the regulator's expectation of case-by-case assessment, helpfully highlighting that abuse of U.K.-regulated markets can arise earlier than some might think, say lawyers at Sullivan & Cromwell.
A Look At PCAOB's Record-Breaking Enforcement In 2024

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in 2024 brought more enforcement actions against auditors and imposed increasingly higher monetary penalties, showing that it was not afraid to exercise its power to fine and reprimand firms, a trend that will likely continue in 2025, say attorneys at Briglia Hundley.
2 Cases May Enlighten UK Funds' Securities Litigation Path

Following recent nine-figure settlements in securities class actions against Apple and Under Armour, U.K. pension funds may increasingly lead U.S. shareholder derivative suits, advocating for transparency, better risk management and stronger governance practices, say lawyers at Labaton Keller.
Interpreting Newly Released Consumer Fraud Complaints Data

The Financial Ombudsman Service’s latest complaint data focuses on scams and customer service, and demonstrates that as fraud is becoming rapidly more complex, financial regulators need to acknowledge that technology is here to stay and work together with firms to protect consumers, say lawyers at RPC.
Applying New FCA Guidance On Control Of Financial Firms

Buyers seeking to acquire or increase their stakes in U.K. financial services firms can streamline prudential review of their transactions by understanding the Financial Conduct Authority’s recently published guidance on updated change-in-control regulations, says Mark Chalmers at Davis Polk.
Anticipating The UK's Top M&A Trends In 2025

Conversations with market participants are focusing on five key questions about 2025's transactional markets, ranging from issues of artificial intelligence, to the boom in takeovers and increased regulatory scrutiny, says Layla D’Monte at King & Spalding.
Businesses Should Expect A Role In Tackling Fraud Next Year

If one word sums up a key trend in financial crime enforcement in 2024, it would be fraud, as enforcement agencies clamped down on consumer-focused crime — and businesses will need to be prepared to play a part in 2025 with the coming of the "failure to prevent fraud" offense, says Jessica Parker at Corker Binning.
What FCA's 2024 Changes Suggest For Enforcement In 2025

Though the Financial Conduct Authority is likely to enter 2025 hungry for enforcement wins after fielding intense criticism in 2024 over proposed policy amendments, firms can glean ideas for mitigating their risk from heightened scrutiny by studying the regulator's changing behavior from the year just past, says Imogen Makin at WilmerHale.
How The Wirecard Judge Addressed Unreliability Of Memory

In a case brought by the administrator of Wirecard against Greybull Capital, High Court Judge Sara Cockerill took a multipronged and thoughtful approach to a common problem with fraudulent misrepresentation claims — how to assess the evidence of what was said at a meeting where recollections differ and where contemporaneous documentation is limited, says Andrew Head at Forsters.
Decoding Arbitral Disputes: Cross-Border Contract Lessons

A U.K. court's decision this month in Banco De Sabadell v. Cerberus provides critical lessons for practitioners involved in drafting and litigating cross-border investment agreements, and offers crucial insight into how English courts apply foreign law in complex cross-border disputes, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn.
Practical Considerations For Private Fund Side Letters

Side letters are a common way of formalizing negotiated arrangements between a private fund and a particular investor — and as the number and length of side letters per fundraise steadily climb, managers must consider the material legal risks carefully, say lawyers at Dechert.
Preparing For The Next 5 Years Of EU Digital Policy

The new European Commission appears poised to build on the artificial intelligence, data management and digital regulation groundwork laid by President Ursula von der Leyen's first mandate, with a strong focus on enforcement and further enhancement of previous initiatives during the next five years, say lawyers at Steptoe.
Key Takeaways From EU's Coming Digital Act

The European Union's impending Digital Operational Resilience Act will necessitate closer collaboration on resilience, risk management and compliance, and crucial challenges include ensuring IT third-party service providers meet the requirements on or before January 2025, says Susie MacKenzie at Coralytics.
Cross Market Drill Highlights Operational Resilience Priorities

The U.K.’s recent cross-market major infrastructure failure simulation exercise, demonstrates that operational resilience of the financial sector is high on the regulatory agenda, and the findings should ensure that the sector develops collective capabilities to deliver improvements, say lawyers at Taylor Wessing.
What Partners Should Know About Net Asset Value Loans

The increasing popularity and evolution of net asset value facilities means they continue as an important financing tool to generate liquidity for funds’ portfolios, so general partners looking to capitalize on this expanding market should be mindful of their limited partners' concerns to maximize their value, says Anthony Lombardi at Dechert.