Serious Fraud Office to call for overhaul of disclosure regime following trial issues September 4, 2022 THE UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is pushing for the UK’s current disclosure framework to be reformed and brought into the 21st century, City A.M. has learned. The head of the fraud agency, Lisa Osofsky, is expected to use a speech in Cambridge tomorrow to call for an overhaul of the current disclosure regime, which [...]
City Exclusive – SFO’s ‘unique skillset’ will be needed to tackle UK’s worsening fraud epidemic, Lisa Osofsky says September 2, 2022 The director of the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has said the agency’s skillset will be needed to combat the mounting levels of increasingly complex and high-value frauds facing the UK’s court system. The letter comes in response to reports in this paper showing the number of fraud cases reaching the UK Crown Courts dropped [...]
Letters: Never-ending tide of fraud September 2, 2022 [RE: Fraud crackdown stalled by record court wait times] I read with interest – but not surprise – that the value of fraud cases heard in courts has significantly risen in 2022, particularly in high-value fraud cases. I would add two points to your commentary. Behind the rising trial numbers lie human stories, with victims [...]
Axiom founder sentenced to 14 years in prison over £100m ‘no win, no fee’ investment fraud August 11, 2022 The founder of a Cayman Islands headquartered fund, that bankrolled ‘no win, no fee’ lawsuits, has been jailed for 14 years for using millions in investors cash to finance his own extravagant spending habits. Axiom Legal Financing Fund founder Timothy Schools was today sentenced to 14 years in prison at a hearing at Southwark Crown [...]
Cayman Islands fund manager convicted over role in £100m ‘no win, no fee’ investment fraud August 10, 2022 The founder of a Cayman Islands investment fund, that bankrolled ‘no win, no fee’ lawsuits, has been convicted of using a complex network of overseas trust to defraud investors of millions. Timothy Schools, investment manager at the Cayman Islands headquartered Axiom Legal Financing Fund, used investors cash to fund his luxury lifestyle, that saw [...]
Glencore shareholders set for payday as profits jump to $18.9bn August 4, 2022 Mining and commodities giant Glencore announced it would put $4.5bn back in shareholders pockets today after it reported record half-yearly profits of $18.9bn on the back of soaring metal prices and market volatility.
Staff cuts in crime agencies would ‘completely undermine’ UK’s fight against oligarchs, campaigners warn July 26, 2022 Campaigners have called on the UK government to rule out plans to slash headcounts in the enforcement agencies tasked with fighting economic crime, after warning any cuts would “completely undermine” Britain’s bid to crack down on the kleptocrats, criminals, and oligarchs that seek to launder dirty money in the UK. UK government plans to cut [...]
Sigh of relief at ammunition giant Chemring as SFO closes four-year probe without prosecution July 1, 2022 A four-year probe into alleged bribery, corruption and money laundering at grenade and ammunition manufacturer Chemring and one of its subsidiaries by the Serious Fraud Office has been closed without prosecution. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) opened its investigation into the activities of Chemring, its subsidiary Chemring Technology Solutions and associated persons in 2018 after [...]
UK government is failing to match words with action in stamping out dirty money, MPs say June 30, 2022 The UK government is failing to match its rhetoric with real efforts to crack down on dirty money, MPs have warned. The government is continuing to let the UK become a “safe deposit box” for morally bankrupt billionaires, despite its rhetoric around “clamping down” on Russian money, the Foreign Affairs Committee said. The committee said [...]
Petrofac pushes for post-pandemic rebound as Covid-19 bites into profits June 28, 2022 Energy giant Petrofac is targeting a strong order intake in the second half of the year, as it grapples with lingering impact of the pandemic.