‘You’re free to go’: Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou reaches shock deal with US September 25, 2021 Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s chief financial officer and the daughter of the company’s founder, Ren Zhengfei, has resolved criminal charges against her as part of a shock deal with the US Justice Department that paves the way for her to return to China. The agreement with Wanzhou calls for the Justice Department to dismiss fraud charges [...]
Small law firms are let off from economic crime tax September 23, 2021 Small law firms have escaped the UK government’s Economic Crime Levy, aimed at raising £100m annually from anti-money laundering (AML) regulated organisations, to help pay for the fight against economic crime. Instead, AML-regulated organisations, including legal practices, banks and accountancy firms, with revenues above £10.2m will be subject to the new tax. The Economic Crime [...]
Deloitte partners average pay close to £1m as Big Four profits surge September 23, 2021 Deloitte’s UK partners will pocket around £1m on average as the Big Four’s revenues have seen a revival driven by a demand for advice during the pandemic, according to the Financial Times, which first reported the news. The payout to 700 equity partners at Deloitte, who received an average of £731,000 from profit shares last [...]
Legal giant Ashurst: One in three of our new recruits will have ethnic minority background September 22, 2021 International law firm Ashurst has announced wide-ranging diversity targets for both its global and UK offices to reach in the next five years. The new targets expand the company’s focus areas to include more LGBTI+ representation, gender equality and ethnicity targets in the UK. In its UK offices, Ashurst aims for 35 per cent of [...]
London’s first charter ‘much needed’ as data is increasingly a corporate asset, says specialist September 22, 2021 Yesterday it was announced that London First will be launching the London Data Charter, which sets out the guiding principles for private and public sector data collaborations. The initiative aims to create commitment from signatories to be a part of London’s data ecosystem, by opening and sharing their data to define the collaboration and data-sharing [...]
Mishcon de Reya announces new merger ahead of IPO September 21, 2021 Law firm Mishcon de Reya has agreed a merger with life sciences specialist Taylor Vinters after recently confirming its plans to go public on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The deal will result in a new legal and consultancy business, named MDR Taylor Vinters, which will be led by Taylor Vinters’ management team. Mishcon said [...]
Prime Ministerial endorsement: Cognizant zooms in on UK with 2,500 new hires September 20, 2021 The Prime Minister has today announced that global consultancy Cognizant will expand its digital UK workforce by 35 per cent over three years. The announcement comes as Boris Johnson hailed the UK’s “tech revolution” in “creating jobs, driving growth and boosting investment across the country,” and at the start of London Tech Week. The move [...]
City minister pledges ‘competitive tax rates’ for UK financial services sector ahead of Budget September 20, 2021 John Glen has promised that the UK’s financial services sector will benefit from “competitive tax rates,” ahead of the next Budget on 27 October, according to reports. “To be competitive, we have to have competitive tax rates and that’s what’s on the chancellor’s mind at the moment,” the City minister told the Financial Times, which first reported the [...]
City should brace itself for €900bn Brexit hit if Brussels plays clearing politics September 17, 2021 The City and several financial services groups in Brussels are lobbying for an extension to clearing house access beyond June of next year. Yesterday, a trio of major lobby groups for Europe’s finserv sector called on Brussels to extend the EU’s access to London clearing houses amid warnings of financial instability. The groups wrote to [...]
Prince Andrew can request unsealing of 2009 deal that protects him from sexual assault lawsuit September 17, 2021 Prince Andrew is permitted to request the unsealing of a 2009 settlement agreement that his lawyer claims protects him from a lawsuit alleging he sexually assaulted a girl two decades ago, a US judge has said. Manhattan Judge Loretta Preska said in a written order that Andrew can seek the information to support arguments that [...]