By Gillian Sproul on Posted in Brexit,International Law,International TradeThe EU Court of Justice ruled today, 10 December, that the U.K. can unilaterally withdraw its “Brexit” notification to the EU. The ruling follows the advice of the advocate general to the EU Court last week, that the U.K. should be able to revoke the notification without the consent of the other 27 EU member… Continue Reading
By Gillian Sproul on Posted in Brexit,International LawAdvice given to the EU Court of Justice on Tuesday, 4 December recommends that the Court’s judges rule that the U.K. can withdraw its March 2017 notice of intention to leave the EU without the consent of the other 27 EU member states. The advice also recommends that this unilateral right to withdraw the notice… Continue Reading
By Anne-Marie Ottaway, Barry Vitou and Gareth R. Hall on 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
By Gillian Sproul on Posted in Brexit,Government,International Law,International TradeAt their summit on 25 November, the leaders of the EU27 states approved the draft agreement providing for the U.K.’s withdrawal from the EU. The EU and U.K. also issued a joint statement outlining the framework for the post-Brexit EU/U.K. relationship. These developments, although much-awaited, give little legal certainty in the short term. Draft Withdrawal… Continue Reading
By Anne-Marie Ottaway, Barry Vitou and Gareth R. Hall on 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
By Greenberg Traurig on Posted in Antitrust Trade & Regulation,White collarBarry Vitou and A. John Pappalardo co-authored an article Lexis®PSL Corporate Crime titled “Statute of Limitations on Bribery—UK and US Perspectives.” This article was first published on Lexis®PSL Corporate Crime on 22 August 2018. To read this article, click here.… Continue Reading
By Greenberg Traurig on Posted in Corporate,M&A,Real EstateLONDON – 6 August 2018 – A multidisciplinary London-based team at global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP advised InterContinental Hotels Group plc on its arrangements with French real estate investor Covivio (formerly Foncière des Régions) to rebrand and operate 12 high-quality open hotels and one pipeline hotel in the UK following the acquisition of the… Continue Reading
By Barry Vitou on Posted in White collarRecent statistics show investigators taking a harder line and conducting increasing numbers of searches with the Serious Fraud Office more than tripling the number of searches it conducted in connection with ongoing investigations in the 12 months ended 31, March 2018. Searches by law enforcement investigators, including dawn raids, are inherently intrusive and are often used… Continue Reading
By Greenberg Traurig on Posted in White collarBut raids as part of asset seizure probes fall to zero LONDON – 26 July 2018 – The UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) launched 30 property raids to gather evidence for its ongoing criminal investigations (i.e. before prosecution takes place) in the previous 12 months year ending March 31. The number is more than triple… Continue Reading
By Barry Vitou on Posted in White collarIn Sir Cliff Richard OBE v. The British Broadcasting Corporation and The Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police [2018] EWHC 1837 (Ch) a UK court has ruled that the reporting by the BBC of a police investigation (which was later closed without prosecution) into Sir Cliff Richard and televised search of his home using a helicopter flying… Continue Reading
By Lisa Navarro on Posted in Brexit,GovernmentOn 12 July 2018 the UK government published a white paper outlining its vision for the UK’s future relationship with the European Union (EU) after the UK’s exit from the EU on 29 March 2019. The white paper is predicated on the UK’s exit from the Single Market and the Customs Union and outlines the… Continue Reading
