Home secretary Sajid Javid approves extradition of Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya February 4, 2019 Home secretary Sajid Javid has approved the extradition of Vijay Mallya, the Indian tycoon behind Kingfisher, who is facing criminal fraud charges in India over the collapse of his airline. Last December a UK court ruled that Mallya should be extradited to India and left the decision in the hands of Javid, who has today approved the decision. [...]
Born in the purple: Cadbury drops trademark amid battle for wrapper colour February 4, 2019 Cadbury’s legal battle to protect its distinctive shade of purple has come to an end after the chocolate maker gave up its trademark. In December the Court of Appeal ruled against the confectionery company, which had tried to trademark the shade of purple used on its wrappers. Read more: The colour purple: Cadbury loses latest court battle [...]
BDO completes its merger with Moore Stephens February 4, 2019 BDO has completed its merger with Moore Stephens, forming a new fifth-largest UK audit firm. The announcement arrives alongside new audit contract figures for the Alternative Investment Market (Aim) clients, which show the accountancy firm has expanded its junior market dominance. The new firm – which will operate under the BDO moniker as part of [...]
The taxman collected an extra £3.75bn from VAT investigations into small businesses last year February 4, 2019 The taxman collected an extra £3.75bn from small and mid-sized businesses (SMEs) last year through investigations into the underpayment of VAT, up 12 per cent on the previous year. The extra revenue HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) collected through VAT investigations made up half of all revenue collected through investigations into SMEs in 2017/18, according to [...]
Court rules in favour of Asda workers in equal pay claim against supermarket giant January 31, 2019 Asda workers have been handed a victory in their equal pay claim against the supermarket giant after the Court of Appeal ruled that store workers' roles are comparable to jobs in its warehouses. Tens of thousands of store workers claimed they had been discriminated against in being paid less than their male counterparts who predominantly [...]
Sweating under today’s tax return deadline? It might be time to let your accountant go… January 31, 2019 Left your tax return until the last minute? Desperate to avoid a fine? Take a few tips from me, an award-winning financial technology journalist. Well, okay, the “award” came from Guildford Magistrates Court – in the form of compensation against my useless accountant at the end of a small claims hearing. That verdict was an [...]
Law firm DWF announces intention to float in UK’s largest legal listing January 31, 2019 Law firm DWF yesterday announced its intention to float on the main market of the London Stock Exchange in what would make it by far the largest law firm to go public worldwide. The firm would become just the sixth publicly traded UK law firm, the first to list on the main market and the [...]
Treasury under fire following allegations it had ‘influence’ over RBS GRG unit January 30, 2019 The Treasury has been accused of a “flagrant breach” of the arms-length relationship it had with RBS during the financial crisis following allegations that a Whitehall agency exerted influence over the bank’s controversial restructuring unit. On Tuesday allegations came to light via a legal claim by one of RBS’s former customers, Oliver Morley, that the [...]
‘We’re not looking for fraud’: New Grant Thornton boss clashes with MPs over audit expectations January 30, 2019 Grant Thornton’s new chief executive clashed with MPs today over whether his firm should detect fraud at companies it audits, in a debate that touched on the industry’s much-analysed expectations gap. David Dunckley told members of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis) Select Committee: “We’re not looking for fraud, we’re not looking at the [...]
KPMG boss confident in Carillion audit despite partner suspension January 30, 2019 KPMG’s UK boss said the firm remains confident in the quality of its audit work for collapsed construction firm Carillion, despite suspending a partner over concerns related to falsified documents. Earlier this month, the Big Four audit confirmed it had suspended the top audit partner Carillion, Peter Menshan, along with three other non-partner members of [...]