House of Lords Committee slams fraud office for slow pace of bribery investigations March 14, 2019 A House of Lords Committee today criticised the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for the slow pace of bribery investigations. In a report on the Bribery Act 2010 published today, the Committee said: “The slow pace of investigations, and in particular the failure to update companies on their progress, is a [...]
Regulators for accountants and lawyers slammed for weak money laundering supervision March 12, 2019 Most regulators for accountants and lawyers are not doing enough to scrutinise money laundering, a senior regulator said today. A review of the Office for Professional Body Anti Money Laundering Supervision (OPBAS) which was set up a year ago to monitor the performance of regulators, found many were not doing the job satisfactorily. Alison Barker, [...]
Financial Reporting Council to be scrapped in shake-up of audit sector March 11, 2019 The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) will be scrapped and replaced with a new beefed-up watchdog following a review into the audit sector by Sir John Kingman, the government announced today. The new regulator will have stronger statutory powers, including the ability to make direct changes to accounts and powers to require rapid explanations from companies [...]
Law firm DWF raises £95m in first-ever main market legal listing March 11, 2019 Law firm DWF has today raised £95m in the first main market float for a law firm, valuing the business at £366m. DWF is by far the largest of the handful of law firms to have listed on the stock market and is the first firm with a large international footprint to have gone public. [...]
The UK’s competition policy must be fit for a world of tech giants and hidden cartels March 11, 2019 Competition is the oxygen of the capitalist system. From Adam Smith on, there have been warnings of the threats to economic health if competition is restricted by would-be monopolists or cartels. In the UK, the system is policed by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). It rarely hits the headlines except for occasional controversial cases like [...]
Lord Falconer to chair litigation funder Therium’s £1m giveaway March 11, 2019 Former Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer is to chair a £1m giveaway by litigation funder Therium aimed at increasing access to justice in the UK. The funder has set aside £1m for the new initiative, dubbed Therium Access, with the first round of grants to be announced next month. Therium typically provides funds to those pursuing [...]
Interserve battles to avoid administration as shareholder vote looms on Friday March 10, 2019 Interserve is facing a battle for survival with less than five days left to convince shareholders to save the business from administration, with the added threat of legal action hanging above its directors. The board, including boss Debbie White, face an uphill battle trying to balance the interests of biggest shareholder Coltrane Asset Management on one [...]
Former head of public prosecutions barred from dealing with CPS and SFO over conflict fears March 10, 2019 The UK’s former director of public prosecutions (DPP) has been barred from contact with agencies such as the Serious Fraud Offices for two years over conflict of interest fears. Alison Saunders, who stepped down as DPP last year to join law firm Linklaters, is not allowed to deal with the Crown Prosecution Services (CPS) or [...]
Magic Circle law firms launch gig economy-style offerings in uncertain legal market March 10, 2019 The UK’s leading law firms are betting on the gig economy to boost their growth with Linklaters and Clifford Chance joining Allen & Overy in setting up networks of self-employed lawyers to provide to clients on a flexible basis. Linklaters is understood to be developing a scheme to take advantage of its alumni network with [...]
HMRC launches first investigations using new corporate money laundering powers March 10, 2019 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has launched its first criminal investigations under a new money laundering offence, freedom of information requests reveal. The tax authority is investigating a handful of cases under the corporate criminal offence of failure to prevent the facilitation of UK tax evasion which was introduced in the Criminal Finances Act 2017 [...]