The Copyright Directive might have noble aims, but it is plagued by a lack of clarity April 3, 2019 Last week, the European Union inched closer to finalising new rules governing the use of copyright material on the internet. Set out in the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market, the rules set out to curb the power of big tech firms by levelling the playing field between content creators and those who [...]
Big Four must face up to the realities of reform or risk having no choice April 3, 2019 A couple of MPs managed to tear themselves away from Westminster's slow motion car crash yesterday to deliver a kicking to another scandal-hit sector of the British establishment. Labour chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy committee Rachel Reeves and Conservative MP Antoinette Sandbach addressed a packed auditorium at the Chartered Accountants’ Hall near [...]
Court gears up to hear Andrew Tinkler defamation claims against Stobart directors April 2, 2019 Former Stobart chief Andrew Tinkler will launch his claim for defamation against five of the company's directors in court tomorrow, reigniting what has been a bitter battle. Tinkler, who was fired from the Stobart board last July, claims a statement put out by the FTSE 250 firm last May contained "false and defamatory material" about him. The statement, [...]
MPs call for full breakup of audit’s Big Four in wake of scandals April 2, 2019 MPs have triggered a war of words in the City after calling for a radical breakup of accountancy’s Big Four firms. A highly-anticipated report by the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis) Committee, released today, said the audit and consultancy arms of Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC should be forcibly divided to drive up competition [...]
Euribor rate-rigging trial delivers the fraud office a much-needed win April 1, 2019 The convictions of two former Barclays bankers in the Serious Fraud Office’s long and protracted probe into Euribor manipulation will inject a new sense of purpose into an agency weary from a string of defeats and climbdowns. Today Carlo Palombo and Colin Bermingham were sentenced to a combined nine years in prison for their role in [...]
Ex-Barclays traders sentenced to combined nine years in prison in Euribor rigging trial April 1, 2019 Two former Barclays traders were sentenced to a combined nine years in prison today after they were found guilty of rigging the Euribor interest rate benchmark. Sentencing, Judge Gledhill handed Carlo Palombo four years in prison and Colin Bermingham five years for their part in conspiring to manipulate Euribor, the euro currency's money market reference [...]
Former Barclays banker Colin Bermingham found guilty of Euribor rigging March 28, 2019 A second former Barclays banker in the Euribor rigging trial has been convicted at Southwark Crown Court. Colin Bermingham was today found guilty of manipulating the Euribor benchmark by a majority verdict of a jury of nine men and three women. His conviction follows that of Carlo Palombo, another Barclays employee who was convicted of the same offence [...]
Mining giant ENRC sues UK fraud office for £70m over long-running corruption investigation March 26, 2019 Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) is suing the UK's fraud agency for £70m over its conduct during a long-running probe into alleged corruption at the Kazakh miner. ENRC, which was delisted from the FTSE in 2013, has accused the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) of “arbitrary, oppressive and unconstitutional conduct” in relation to its investigation into [...]
Former Barclays banker found guilty of Euribor rigging March 26, 2019 A former Barclays banker has been found guilty of manipulating the Euribor interest rate benchmark while another was acquitted of the same offence. Carlo Palombo was today found guilty by a jury of nine men and three women at Southwark Crown Court after five days of deliberations and a two-month trial. Sisse Bohart, also a former [...]
DEBATE: The Mueller report has cleared Trump of collusion with Russia – is this the end of his legal worries? March 26, 2019 The Mueller report has cleared Trump of collusion with Russia – is this the end of his legal worries? YES, says Sarah Elliott, chair of Republicans Overseas UK After two years and over $25m of taxpayer funds, the big conspiracy, perpetuated by the Trump-deranged media, that the 45th President was elected because of Russian collusion has [...]