1MDB and Malaysia sue 44 KPMG partners for $5.6bn July 9, 2021 Malaysia govt, its Ministry of Finance and 1MDB are suing 44 KPMG Malaysia partners in a $5.64bn suit for their part in auditing the state investment fund. The lawsuit, which was filed earlier this week, accused KPMG of committing breaches of contract and negligence in its audit and certification of 1MDB’s financial statements for the [...]
‘Memory affected by long Covid’: Top City lawyer denies lying under oath July 9, 2021 City lawyer Neil Gerrard rejected the notion he lied under oath during a multimillion-pound High Court trial after text messages emerged suggesting he knew one of his client’s senior employees was secretly giving evidence to investigators. Gerrard and his firm Dechert represented Kazakh mining giant Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) between 2011 and 2013, investigating [...]
London IPO: LendInvest prices AIM float as it looks to raise £40m July 9, 2021 Property finance asset manager LendInvest will float on the AIM index on Wednesday, with shares priced at 186p
Asylum seekers crossing English Channel no longer face prosecution July 8, 2021 The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) today said migrants who cross the English Channel seeking asylum in the UK will no longer be prosecuted. An agreement was struck between police, prosecutors, the National Crime Agency, Border Force and the Home Office over cases involving “illegal entry”. It will also apply to those arriving by lorry. However, [...]
HMRC yet to win a single prosecution that’s used an account freezing order July 8, 2021 HMRC yet to win a single prosecution that used an account freezing order
Audit reforms: IoD call for caution in plans to break Big Four dominance July 8, 2021 The government should approach its plans for an audit and corporate governance reform with greater caution, said the Institute of Directors (IoD). A government white paper aimed at breaking up the concentration of the Big Four auditing firms – Deloitte, PwC, KPMG and EY has stirred criticism from the business group, who said that the [...]
Cairn Energy wins freeze on India-owned assets worth €20m in Paris July 8, 2021 UK-listed Cairn Energy wins a freeze on some of India’s state-owned assets in Paris, worth over €20m (£17m), as the company dials up the pressure on the government of India to pay an arbitration award that it won last year. Cairn said the freeze was ordered by a French tribunal on around 20 centrally located [...]
BlackRock raises $250m for climate funds in emerging markets July 8, 2021 BlackRock raised over $250m (£181m) for its climate finance fund to invest in a selection of countries in Asia, Latin America, and Africa, the company announced today. Through its Climate Finance Partnership, the world’s biggest asset manager will focus on investing in renewable power generation, energy storage solutions and electrified transportation services. Blackrock said it aims [...]
Business growth returns across financial services sector in second quarter July 8, 2021 Business volumes across the financial services sector in the second quarter grew at its fastest pace since June 2017, after stalling in the previous quarter. Growth in business volumes across the financial sector in the second quarter was at 40 per cent, its fastest pace since June 2017, and is expected to continue in the [...]
Former trader at JP Morgan wins case against investment bank over spoofing July 7, 2021 Former trader at JP Morgan wins case against investment bank over spoofing