Government sets up new watchdog – Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision – to get tough on money laundering March 15, 2017 The UK government is toughening up on money laundering by launching a watchdog to deal specifically with the crime. The Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision, or OPBAS as it will be known for short, will sit within the Financial Conduct Authority and should be up and running by the start of next year. The [...]
LuxLeaks’ whistleblowers have sentences reduced, but appeal court upholds convictions March 15, 2017 A Luxembourg appeals court today cut the sentences of two ex-PwC workers for playing a part in leaking data from the firm which revealed the ins and outs of the tax tricks used by hundreds of companies. In a court ruling last June, Antoine Deltour was given a 12-month suspended sentence and a €1,500 (£1,305) fine and Raphael [...]
Robert Walters thankful for overseas operations as it posts record revenue figures but warns on uncertain environment March 15, 2017 Headhunter and outsourcing firm Robert Walters today posted record revenues but warned of an "unpredictable geopolitical environment". Shares rose over one per cent in early trading, with the figures boosted by currency gains from its overseas operations. The figures Revenues grew to £999m, up 23 per cent from £813m in 2015 with gross profit up 19 per [...]
The Supreme Court has sided with charities in their battle against a disinherited daughter who was written out of her mother’s will March 15, 2017 The Supreme Court today ruled in favour of three animal charities, arguing a lower court had been wrong in reassigning money left to them to the deceased's disinherited daughter. The Court of Appeal decided in 2015 Heather Ilott should be handed over £163,000 of her late mother's wealth, despite the two having been estranged for over two decades and [...]
Olympic Stadium investigation: Beancounters net fees, findings to be made public this summer March 13, 2017 The mid-tier accountancy firm undertaking the forensic investigation into the London Stadium overspend will net at least £140,000, according to documents published by City Hall. Moore Stephens was appointed in February to perform a review of how the cost to transform the Olympic Stadium into the multi-use London Stadium increased from an original budget of £115m to £323m. The firm plans to deliver [...]
PwC’s partnering with tech startup incubator Codebase March 13, 2017 PwC is putting its weight behind technology startups, partnering with the UK's biggest incubator. The professional services giant will support Scotland's Codebase, which is home to more than 80 startups in Edinburgh and will soon launch a second location in Stirling. Read more: Google parent Alphabet is backing London fintech startup Currencycloud It will offer [...]
“There’s a rat in the room”: Nick Candy claims he has been misportrayed in £132m High Court extortion trial March 10, 2017 Property tycoon Nick Candy told a High Court judge this morning that he has been “misportrayed” in the £132m extortion case against him and his brother Christian Candy. He made the complaint at the end of the fifth week of a trial that has scrutinised the business dealings of two men at the centre of London’s [...]
Spring Budget 2017: Junior barristers could be badly hit by hike in national insurance March 9, 2017 Those trying to make a name for themselves in the courts have been dealt a blow by the impending hike in national insurance. Chancellor Philip Hammond revealed in his maiden Budget yesterday that the class 4 National Insurance rate would be increased by one percentage point to 10 per cent from April 2018, and then [...]
Standard Life Investments sees first senior executive quit after merger plans unveiled March 8, 2017 Standard Life Investments’ head of equities, David Cumming, is the asset manager’s first senior executive to exit the business following its merger with Aberdeen Asset Management. The company said in a statement that Cumming was leaving to “pursue other interests”. Cumming joined Standard Life Investments in 1998, becoming UK head of equities in 2000, and [...]
Dignity share price drops after growth revision March 8, 2017 Dignity, which provides funeral services, crematoria and pre-arranged funeral plans, saw its share price plunge 13 per cent after it revised down its growth rate. It revised down its medium-term target underlying EPS growth rate to eight per cent per annum from the current 10 per cent. However, Dignity beat analysts’ consensus profit forecasts after [...]