By Kara M. Bombach, Anne-Marie Ottaway, Barry Vitou and Gareth R. Hall on Posted in criminal law,GT Alert,International Trade,White collarThe UK’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), the body tasked by the UK Treasury to administer and enforce financial sanctions in the UK, has issued its biggest monetary penalty to date, against the UK arm of an international telecommunications company for breaching sanctions imposed on a Syrian entity. The £146,341 monetary penalty was issued against… Continue Reading
By Aonghus Heatley on Posted in Brexit,Environmental,GT Alert,International LawAn important difference between UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Withdrawal Agreement and former Prime Minister Theresa May’s Withdrawal Agreement is that provisions relating to environmental protections have been removed and are now to be found in the amended Political Declaration. While the Withdrawal Agreement, once ratified, would be a legally binding treaty between the UK… Continue Reading
By Gillian Sproul on Posted in Brexit,EU Withdrawal Agreement,GT Alert,No-deal BrexitIn a historic decision issued 24 September 2019, the UK Supreme Court ruled that the UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, acted unlawfully when he advised the Queen to prorogue, or suspend, the UK Parliament for five weeks, until 14 October 2019. The effect of the very clear and unanimous decision of the 11 Supreme Court judges… Continue Reading
By Gillian Sproul on Posted in Brexit,Government,GT Alert,International Trade,No-deal BrexitOur last GT Alert on Brexit quoted the saying, “a week is a long time in politics”. New Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson has found that a mere 72 hours is an eternity as he seeks to break the political impasse on the terms of the UK’s exit from the European Union – so far,… Continue Reading
By Gillian Sproul on Posted in Brexit,EU Withdrawal Agreement,GT Alert,No-deal BrexitBrexit has driven fault lines through British politics as seen at no time since the 1680s. Fervent ‘leavers’ and fervent ‘remainers’ can be found in both of the main political parties, although most favour various compromise options in between. This is reflected in the composition of the UK Parliament and has resulted in an impasse,… Continue Reading
By Gillian Sproul on Posted in Brexit,GT AlertThe UK’s new prime minister, Boris Johnson, will take office on 24 July 2019, just over three months before the UK is due to leave the EU, on 31 October 2019. When the UK voted to leave the EU in June 2016, few predicted that Brexit would not yet be achieved over three years later.… Continue Reading
By Anne-Marie Ottaway, Barry Vitou and Gareth R. Hall on Posted in GT Alert,Serious Fraud Office,White collarOn 30 May 2019 the SFO issued a press release announcing that Carol Ann Hodson, the former director and owner of a company named ALCA Fasteners Ltd (ALCA), pleaded guilty to paying bribes amounting to £300,000 in order to secure contracts worth £12m. The bribes were paid to purchasing manager1 of a German company over the… Continue Reading
By Anne-Marie Ottaway, Barry Vitou and Gareth R. Hall on Posted in criminal law,GT Alert,Proceeds of Crime Act,White collarIt is widely thought that proceedings under the Proceeds of ‘Crime’ Act, such as confiscation, are intended to obtain the money someone makes from committing a crime. So, the thinking goes, if a person is convicted of fraud having made £100,000 from the crime, then those funds can be confiscated by the courts. While this… Continue Reading
By Anne-Marie Ottaway, Barry Vitou and Gareth R. Hall on Posted in GT Alert,White collarSpeaking on 4 April 2019, the head of enforcement for the UK FCA, Mark Steward, warned those subject to the UK’s anti-money laundering regulations that ‘it is time that the FCA gave effect to the full intention of the Money-Laundering Regulations which provides for criminal prosecutions’. He added: ‘[The FCA is] now conducting ‘dual track’ AML investigations,… Continue Reading
By Gillian Sproul on Posted in Brexit,GT AlertIn the early hours of 11 April 2019, Brexit date was extended again, this time to 31 October 2019. The original Brexit date was 29 March, two years from the date on which the UK gave the EU notice of its intention to leave the EU. Then on 22 March, the EU and UK agreed to… Continue Reading
