On 7 February 2019, the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) confirmed that it had obtained account forfeiture orders over money held in bank accounts in the name of the former Moldovan prime minister’s son, Vlad Luca Filat. Part III of our ‘Prove It or Lose It’ series anticipated the use of these draconian new powers… Continue Reading
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Top 5 Predictions for UK White Collar Defence in 2019
Posted in Brexit, criminal law, Government, International Law, White collarWhat does 2019 have in store for white-collar defence in the UK? In this GT Alert, we list our top 5 predictions relating to Serious Fraud Office (SFO) Director Lisa Osofsky, who indicated various areas of focus for her tenure; Brexit and the potential loss of the European Arrest Warrant regime and the U.K.’s access to EU… Continue Reading
The Financial Conduct Authority – Part 1 – Market Manipulation
Posted in criminal law, FCA, Financial Conduct Authority, spoofing, White collarThe term ‘market manipulation’ is a broad one which can mean a number of things. In this GT Advisory, we consider how market manipulation is approached in the U.K. in both a civil and criminal context, and how it has been enforced by the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). We also discuss spoofing, a tactic… Continue Reading
Failure to Prevent Tax Evasion: Forgotten, but Not Gone
Posted in criminal law, Tax, tax evasion, White collarThe new offences introduced by the Criminal Finances Act 2017 (the Act), although widely publicised in the months leading up to its commencement, have received little attention since from commentators and, seemingly, the enforcement authorities. The two new offences govern U.K. and non-U.K. tax and are targeted at criminalising a corporate entity or partnership’s (broadly,… Continue Reading
Prove It or Lose It! Part III: A Step Too Far? Account Freezing Orders & Account Forfeiture Orders
Posted in criminal law, White collarPart III of our series on asset recovery powers available to UK law enforcement authorities focuses on new powers under the Criminal Finances Act 2017 to obtain orders to freeze bank accounts and apply for forfeiture orders, permanently depriving the account holder of the funds contained in the account. These draconian new powers have received little publicity… Continue Reading
Prove It or Lose It! Part II: Civil Recovery Orders
Posted in White collarIn the first of our two-part series, we looked at Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs). To summarize, UWOs require the recipient to explain how they obtained their wealth/assets, which authorities have reasonable grounds to suspect could not have been with the recipient’s known sources of income. The UWO is the beginning of a journey that can result… Continue Reading
Prove It or Lose It! – Part I: Unexplained Wealth Orders
Posted in White collarUnexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs) have recently been in the news. They extend the powers available to UK law enforcement authorities under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA). A UWO enables investigators to ask people who are holding assets, which based on their legitimate income they would not be able to afford, to prove that… Continue Reading