British companies are failing to keep up with criminals, in-house lawyers warn November 3, 2022 In-house lawyers working in major British companies are becoming increasingly concerned that the firms they work for are failing to keep up with the methods being used by criminals to carry out financial crime. More than two-thirds of in-house lawyers surveyed by law firm Ashurst said they have concerns about their companies’ abilities to keep [...]
Glencore told to pay £281m over international bribery scandal November 3, 2022 A London judge today told a UK subsidiary of Glencore to pay a total sum of £281m over an international bribery scandal that saw its staff pay almost $29m (£25.6m) in bribes to officials in Africa. At a sentencing hearing today, Judge Peter Fraser said a “culture” of bribery was “endemic” within Glencore’s West Africa [...]
Glencore execs used private jets to fly cash bribes to Africa, court hears November 2, 2022 Glencore executives used private jets to fly millions of dollars in bribes to officials in Africa to boost their oil trading activities, a London Court heard today. Traders on Glencore’s London-based West Africa trading desk organised to have bribes, which were withdrawn from the commodity trader’s offices in Switzerland, flown to officials in Cameroon and [...]
Court blocks ‘Essex boys’ traders’ bid to overturn City watchdog’s decision November 2, 2022 A group of oil traders, dubbed the “Essex boys,” who made $700m (£614m) from the collapse in oil prices that saw crude trade negatively at the start of Covid-19, have failed in their bid to overturn a decision by the UK’s financial watchdog to assist US authorities. Traders linked to oil brokerage Vega Capital London [...]
Smaller than expected hit from Hurricane Ian sees Hiscox weather storm November 2, 2022 Anglo-Bermudan insurance company Hiscox today said it had “performed well” in the previous quarter’s complex trading environment after taking a smaller than expected hit from Hurricane Ian. Hiscox said it expects to lose $135m (£117m) as a result of the Category 4 hurricane that made landfall in Florida this September – a sum “well within” [...]
UK’s court system must adapt to digital age in the interests of open justice, MPs say November 1, 2022 The UK’s court system must adapt to the new digital age to ensure the British public have access to reliable, high-quality information, MPs have said. In a new report, the House of Commons Justice Committee calls for court documents to be made available for free, as it argues the decline of court reporting could cause [...]
City watchdog charges five men over ‘all or nothing’ investment fraud November 1, 2022 Five men, who allegedly defrauded investors of £1.2m via an “all or nothing” investment scheme, have been charged by the UK’s financial watchdog. The five men, who are accused of using investors’ money to fund their luxury lifestyles, convinced UK investors to put their cash into high-risk binary options, which have been banned for retail [...]
DWF launches menopause policy in bid to tackle legal sector’s staffing crisis November 1, 2022 DWF has launched a new firm-wide policy to support women going through the menopause, as it seeks to boost its retainment of staff in the face of an exodus of older women from the UK’s workforce. The UK law firm’s policy seeks to support DWF employees going through the menopause with a view to raising [...]
City law firm Gunnercooke enters US market through launch of New York offices November 1, 2022 City law firm Gunnercooke has made its first entry into the US market following the launch of new offices in New York City. The launch of Gunnercooke’s new offices, at the 36-story tall 1 Rockefeller Plaza building in Manhattan, comes as the UK firm’s first venture outside of Europe, following the launch of its German [...]
Scarborough law firm fined over anti-money laundering failures November 1, 2022 The UK’s solicitors’ watchdog has fined Scarborough law firm Pinkney Grunwells Lawyers LLP £2,000 and ordered it to pay £600 in costs over its failure to put in place anti-money laundering (AML) provisions. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) said Pinkney Grunwells had been “reckless” in failing to heed multiple warnings over a three-year period over [...]