Lessons learned from account forfeiture proceedings (NCA v Vlad Luca Filat) – 5 SAH

Posted January 16th, 2020 in bribery, corruption, forfeiture, money laundering, news by sally

‘The Crown Court dismissed Vlad Luca Filat’s appeal against the decision to forfeit £500,000 held in three bank accounts in his name. The court held that the money derived from bribery and corruption offences committed by the appellant’s father, the former prime minister of Moldova, and was obtained by money laundering. The case was the National Crime Agency’s first contested account forfeiture application. James Fletcher, barrister at 5SAH Chambers, who appeared for the National Crime Agency, suggests that these types of applications are likely to be deployed more and more often.’

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5 SAH, 14th January 2020

Source: www.5sah.co.uk

Football for sale: Agent and manager found guilty of bribery – Daily Telegraph

Posted December 17th, 2019 in bribery, news, sport by tracey

‘A players’ agent and a senior club football manager have been convicted of bribery charges following a Telegraph investigation.’

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Daily Telegraph, 16th December 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Pakistani tycoon agrees to hand over £190m to UK authorities – The Guardian

Posted December 4th, 2019 in bribery, corruption, fraud, news, proceeds of crime by tracey

‘More than £190m of assets, including a £50m mansion overlooking Hyde Park in London, have been seized from a Pakistani property tycoon after a settlement in a UK police “dirty money” investigation.’

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The Guardian, 3rd December 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Solicitor General’s speech at Cambridge Symposium on Economic Crime 2019 – Attorney General’s Office

‘The Solicitor General discusses some of the UK’s key successes in tackling economic crime and the UK government’s ambitious Economic Crime Plan.’

Full speech

Attorney General’s Office, 2nd September 2019

Source: www.gov.uk/ago

NCA freezes £100m suspected to be from corruption overseas – The Guardian

‘More than £100m suspected to have been imported to the UK from bribery and corruption overseas has been frozen following a court order obtained by the National Crime Agency.’

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The Guardian, 14th August 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Lengthy jail terms for scammers who tried to bribe bank staff – Crown Prosecution Service

Posted January 18th, 2019 in banking, bribery, fraud, news, sentencing by tracey

‘Two accomplices who offered bribes to bank staff in an attempt to swindle hundreds of thousands of pounds were jailed today (January 17).’

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Crown Prosecution Service, 17th January 2019

Source: www.cps.gov.uk

Javid and Hammond team up to tackle £14bn of economic crimes – The Guardian

Posted January 14th, 2019 in bribery, budgets, corruption, enforcement, fraud, money laundering, news, statistics by tracey

‘The home secretary and chancellor are to launch a joint assault on fraud, bribery, corruption and money laundering. Sajid Javid and Philip Hammond will chair a new taskforce that will work with senior figures in the financial sector to tackle economic crime. This is a broad category covering a range of illegal activity, with the Home Office estimating its scale to be at least £14.4bn a year.’

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The Guardian, 14th January 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

CPS ‘bizarrely’ opted for conviction over deferred prosecution in bribery case – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 12th, 2018 in bribery, Crown Prosecution Service, deferred prosecution agreements, news by sally

‘The lawyer who represented the defendant in what became the first conviction for ‘failure to prevent bribery’ has said it is ‘unfortunate’ that a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) was not offered and that a larger company may have been given more preferential treatment.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 11th December 2018

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

SFO will not appeal landmark litigation privilege ruling – OUT-LAW.com

‘The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) will not appeal to the Supreme Court last month’s ruling that documents generated in connection with an investigation into the Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) were protected by litigation privilege, it has confirmed.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 3rd October 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

Reporting restrictions ‘prevent scrutiny’ of economic crimes – The Guardian

Posted July 16th, 2018 in bribery, fraud, news, private hearings, reporting restrictions by tracey

‘Excessive court reporting restrictions, inadequate listing information and difficulties in obtaining documents are preventing scrutiny of economic crimes and bribery cases, according to a report by Corruption Watch UK.’

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The Guardian, 16th July 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Fraud, bribery and money laundering offences: Assessment of guideline – Sentencing Council

Posted June 27th, 2018 in bribery, fraud, money laundering, press releases, sentencing by tracey

‘The Sentencing Council has published its assessment of the impact of its Fraud, Bribery and Money Laundering offences guideline on sentencing trends, under its statutory duty to monitor the operation and effect of its sentencing guidelines and to draw conclusions from this information.’

Full press release

Sentencing Council, 26th June 2018

Source: www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk

Bribery conviction could indicate hard line on new tax evasion offence – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 27th, 2018 in bribery, company directors, news, tax evasion by tracey

‘The conviction of a company and the jailing of two former company directors for offences under the UK Bribery Act should serve as a warning to businesses over a new tax evasion corporate offence, according to a tax law expert.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 27th April 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

Juror jailed for taking bribe during £7m cocaine dealing trial – Daily Telegraph

Posted April 20th, 2018 in bribery, juries, news, Scotland, sentencing by sally

‘A juror has been jailed for six years after accepting a bribe during a £7 million cocaine dealing trial, which saw the defendants walk free.’

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Daily Telegraph, 19th April 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

UK courts back Petrofac boss in Italian insider trading row – Daily Telegraph

Posted January 25th, 2018 in appeals, bribery, foreign jurisdictions, fraud, insider dealing, news by tracey

‘The UK courts have backed Petrofac boss Ayman Asfari in his battle against Italian insider trading allegations by ruling that he was not served notice of the charges leveled against him by the Italian authorities. The High Court ruling backs Mr Asfari’s claim that the shock sanctions leveled against him last summer by the Italian authorities did not follow due process, meaning he was unable to defend himself against the charges before they were imposed.’

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Daily Telegraph, 24th January 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Obliged companies are to publish their first non-financial strategic reports in the first half of 2018 – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 8th, 2018 in bribery, company law, corruption, news, regulations, reports by sally

‘Traded companies, banks and insurers with a calendar financial year will be assessing how to comply with new non-financial reporting obligations over the coming months, including the obligation to report on anti-bribery and anti-corruption matters.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 5th January 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

Policeman jailed for selling crash data to claims firm – which were sold on to law firms – Legal Futures

‘Two married constables working for Lancashire Police were sentenced last month for stealing police data about car crashes and selling it to claims firms for £363,000.’

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Legal Futures, 8th November 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Fraud may justify ‘collateral use’ of documents in multiple sets of civil proceedings, court rules – OUT-LAW.com

‘The “strong public interest” in pursuing claims for fraud, bribery and corruption may justify allowing the use of documents obtained in one set of legal proceedings in a different set of proceedings, the High Court has ruled.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 3rd November 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

Crowdfunded high court challenge against £1bn Tory-DUP deal fails – The Guardian

‘A crowdfunded bid at the high court in London to challenge the government’s controversial parliamentary deal with the Democratic Unionist party has failed.’

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The Guardian, 26th October 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Solicitor General’s speech at Cambridge Symposium on Economic Crime – Attorney General’s Office

‘The Solicitor General discusses preventing and controlling economic crime in the modern world.’

Full speech

Attorney General’s Office, 4th September 2017

Source: www.gov.uk/ago

Serious Fraud Office opens investigation into BAT bribery claims – The Guardian

Posted August 2nd, 2017 in bribery, corruption, news, Serious Fraud Office, whistleblowers by tracey

‘Allegations that British American Tobacco was involved in bribery and corruption in Africa are being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office, despite the cigarette company’s attempts to downplay the significance of a whistleblower who handed over a dossier of evidence.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 1st August 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com