UK’s biggest phone companies colluded to bankrupt Phones 4U, High Court hears May 17, 2022 The UK’s major telecoms companies took part in a conspiracy to put Phones 4U’s out of business, lawyers acting on behalf of the bankrupt retailer told a High Court. Executives at five major phone companies – EE, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Vodafone, and Telefonica – unlawfully “colluded” to drive Phones4U into administration in a bid to [...]
KPMG hires CryptoUK exec to boost digital assets and Web3 offerings May 17, 2022 KPMG has hired CryptoUK exec Ian Taylor to lead the Big Four accountancy firm’s crypto and digital assets team, in line with plans to strengthen its crypto offering. The firm said the former executive director of the UK’s crypto industry trade body will continue to have an advisory role at CryptoUK alongside his new position [...]
Google and DeepMind face class action lawsuit over patient data deal with London hospital May 16, 2022 London law firm Mishcon de Reya is bringing forward a major class action lawsuit against artificial intelligence (AI) firm DeepMind and its sister company Google over claims the two firms misused UK patients’ medical records while working with the Royal Free Hospital. The lawsuit, filed to the High Court on behalf of 1.6m individuals, comes [...]
Ex-Dechert solicitor leaked ENRC’s confidential documents to media, London judge rules May 16, 2022 A London judge has said a senior partner at corporate law firm Dechert LLP breached his duties to Kazakhstani mining conglomerate ENRC by leaking information about the company to three British newspapers and the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO). High Court judge Mr Justice Waksman said Neil Gerrard, the former head of white-collar crime at [...]
KPMG faces record £14.4m fine after auditors misled watchdog during Carillion inspection May 12, 2022 KPMG is set to be hit with a record £14.4m fine after a tribunal found five of its former staff deliberately misled the UK’s audit watchdog by forging documents during routine inspections of their work. The tribunal heard the UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) had agreed to reduce KPMG’s fine from a sum of £20m, [...]
UK’s accountancy sector turnovers soar to record highs May 12, 2022 The UK’s accountancy firms generated more cash in March than in any other month on record, new Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures show. Turnover in Britain’s accountancy sector jumped 14 per cent from February to March to record highs of £4.13bn. The multi-billion sum comes as a new high for the UK’s accountancy industry, [...]
Top City bosses should face jail over failures to prevent economic crime, cross-party MPs say May 12, 2022 MPs today called for a crack down on “dirty money” as they argued City bosses should face jail if they fail to prevent illicit cash from flowing through the UK’s financial system. In launching an Economic Crime manifesto, the cross-party MPs said the UK and its overseas territories have played a key role in enabling [...]
Lawyers slam government’s plans to replace Human Rights Act with new ‘Bill of Rights’ May 11, 2022 Lawyers have slammed the UK government’s plans to dismantle the Human Rights Act and replace it with a new “Bill of Rights”. The plan, set out in the Queen’s Speech, is set to see the government tear up the UK’s Human Rights Act of 1998, which enshrines the rights guaranteed by the European Convention on [...]
Aviva chief Amanda Blanc speaks out against City sexism following ‘inappropriate’ comments at AGM May 11, 2022 Aviva chief Amanda Blanc has spoken out against sexism in the City, after she was subjected to a barrage of “sexist and derogatory” comments at Aviva’s annual general meeting (AGM). The insurance industry veteran said she had observed an increase in incidents of overt sexism during her 30+ years in the financial services sector, as [...]
Allianz sets aside an extra €1.9bn to cover costs of Structured Alpha funds scandal May 11, 2022 German asset manager Allianz has set aside another €1.9bn (£1.6bn) to cover the costs of lawsuits arising from the multi-billion-dollar collapse of its Structured Alpha funds. The extra sum brings Allianz’ total reserves to €5.6bn, after the Munich firm set aside €3.7bn to settle the lawsuits in February this year. The move comes as Allianz [...]