As MPs seek more documents for the BHS inquiry, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) said it had not yet taken a position on the actions of lawyers involved.
Continue reading “‘Still monitoring’: Regulator silent on BHS inquiry as hearing continues”
Total prosecutions for white collar crime were up by 1% across the last year according to figures from Ministry of Justice (MoJ), marking the first increase in five years. However, the body representing the most serious and complex investigations for such prosecutions, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), has faced criticism over both its blockbuster funding model and its governance structure.
One of the many lasting consequences of the downturn has been a prolonged expansion of the globalised compliance framework. Increased oversight of financial markets has been at the forefront of this development, as reflected by the passage of the US Dodd-Frank Act in 2010 and a succession of EU directives. Continue reading “Comment: Ashurst’s Ben Tidswell argues a volatile risk landscape is a call to arms for modern law firms”
As the UK bank reporting season gets into full swing, a new study says the era of fines, compensation and other legal expenses on the banking industry could be drawing to a close. Continue reading “‘The worst is over’: S&P report predicts end for mega regulatory fines for banks”
The Co-operative Bank’s legal risk expenditure almost doubled in 2015 mostly to address issues caused by the mis-selling of payment protection insurance.
Continue reading “PPI costs drive Co-op Bank’s legal risk expense up 91%”
With the growth of enforcement activity worldwide, companies are being forced to create or adapt their internal structures and incorporate stricter, more sophisticated risk and compliance management systems, to detect and prevent legal risks and address any wrongdoing that could result in the infringement of domestic or international regulations.
The team at LALIVE, an international law firm renowned for its expertise and experience in international legal matters, in particular dispute resolution, investigations and regulatory advisory services, has been helping clients to successfully navigate and adapt to international regulations for the past 15 years. LALIVE has built a robust business crime defence and investigations practice, led by four partners based in Geneva and Zürich, all established practitioners with strong track records in domestic and cross-border litigation, international investigations, business crime defence as well as best-practice risk and compliance management, who combine an excellent understanding of the legal environment and enforcement agency processes, and practice in Switzerland and abroad.
Continue reading “INVESTIGATIONS: Successfully navigating challenging international regulations”
The director of the UK Serious Fraud Office, David Green QC (pictured) has had his contract extended by two years to maintain his position as the UK’s top financial crime prosecutor until April 2018.
Following a BBC investigation that alleged bribery at British American Tobacco (BAT), the FTSE 100 firm has turned to media boutique Harbottle & Lewis to ‘deal with the matter’.
Continue reading “BAT calls in Harbottles after Panorama bribery allegations”
Barclays turned to Simmons & Simmons for advice during a recent Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) inquiry into deals for wealthy clients, which resulted in a £72m fine for the bank last week.
Further proposals for banking reform issued last month by the Bank of England are expected to cause significant internal restructuring of in-house legal teams, with some banks effectively having two separate legal functions.
Under the reforms, banks with core deposits greater than £25bn, including Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, The Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander UK and The Co-operative Bank, will from 2019 need to separate their retail banking function from the rest of their group, which will divide the activities in the legal team. Banks are currently in a transitional phase of determining where the line is drawn between retail banking and investment banking operations.
Continue reading “‘Like Scotland leaving the UK’: Bank ring-fencing reforms herald big changes”
