Axiom Ince: SRA faces enforcement action by LSB following damning report – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The solicitors’ regulator is to face unprecedented enforcement action under the Legal Services Act following the discovery of a catalogue of failures in its handling of the 2023 collapse of law firm Axiom Ince.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 29th October 2024

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Axiom Ince: What the independent review recommends – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The Carson McDowell review into the regulatory events leading up to the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s intervention into Axiom Ince culminates with four pages of recommendations.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 29th October 2024

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Serious Fraud Office probe £112m Unite union hotel – BBC News

Posted October 22nd, 2024 in fraud, hotels, inquiries, news, Serious Fraud Office, trade unions by tracey

‘The Serious Fraud Office is investigating the construction of a hotel and conference centre owned by one of the UK’s biggest trade unions, the BBC can reveal.’

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BBC News, 21st October 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Ministry of Defence official took £70,000 in secret payments – BBC News

‘A former Ministry of Defence (MoD) official has been jailed after taking £70,000 in secret payments and gifts.’

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BBC news, 13th April 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Jailed bankers appeal against interest rate ‘rigging’ convictions – BBC News

‘Two former bankers jailed for rigging interest rates are appealing against their convictions after an eight-year battle to clear their names.’

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BBC News, 14th March 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Fraudster convicted decade ago must pay £92,500 – Law Society’s Gazette

‘A property dealer jailed for one of the UK’s biggest mortgage frauds a decade ago has been ordered to pay a further £92,500 – money which was recovered from a settlement over a donation to a private school.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 17th March 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

SFO secures record penalty in Glencore bribery case – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted November 4th, 2022 in bribery, company law, confiscation, costs, fines, news, sentencing, Serious Fraud Office by tracey

‘The UK subsidiary of commodities trader Glencore was today ordered to pay £281 million in a fine, confiscation order and costs in the largest ever such penalty in a corporate criminal conviction. Glencore is the first business to be convicted under the Bribery Act 2010 for the active authorisation of bribery rather than a failure to prevent it.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 3rd November 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Serious farce: SFO slammed over Unaoil case as third conviction quashed – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted July 22nd, 2022 in bribery, corruption, disclosure, news, Serious Fraud Office, third parties by tracey

‘The Serious Fraud Office must prevent third parties having ‘direct access’ to the watchdog’s director and ensure all prosecutions have an “effective disclosure strategy”, a review into the calamitous Unaoil bribery case recommended today – as a third man jailed after the investigation had his name cleared.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 21st July 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Second conviction quashed on appeal in Iraq ‘bribery’ case – The Independent

Posted March 25th, 2022 in appeals, bribery, conspiracy, Iraq, news, Serious Fraud Office by tracey

‘A second man jailed for three and a half years over a multimillion-dollar bribery conspiracy to secure oil infrastructure contracts in Iraq has had his conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal.’

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The Independent, 24th March 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

SFO v Petrofac: Plea bargain versus DPAs and the importance of good compliance – 5SAH

‘On 4 October 2021, Petrofac Limited (“Petrofac”) was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court following guilty pleas to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery contrary to section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010. This followed a four-year corruption and money laundering investigation conducted by the Serious Fraud Office (“the SFO”) and the earlier guilty pleas of David Lufkin, former Global Head of Sales, who was sentenced on the same occasion. This followed pre-charge plea discussions between the parties with agreement being reached as to scope of the indictment and approach to sentencing.’

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5SAH, 19th October 2021

Source: www.5sah.co.uk

But the Assets are Already Frozen! Where Civil Freezing Orders and Criminal Restraint Orders Collide – Gatehouse Chambers

‘The Claimants were two companies and their respective administrators, who alleged in the main proceedings that substantial sums had misappropriated, by or for the benefit of the Defendants, or otherwise in circumstances giving rise to liability on the part of the Defendants.’

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Gatehouse Chambers, 27th July 2021

Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk

Oil firm led by Tory donor investigated over alleged bribes in nine countries – The Guardian

Posted June 21st, 2021 in bribery, corruption, energy, miners, news, political parties, Serious Fraud Office by tracey

‘A multinational oil firm which was led by a major Conservative donor has been under investigation for allegedly paying million-pound bribes to secure contracts in nine countries. The anti-corruption agency the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has been examining allegedly suspicious payments made by the UK-based firm Petrofac.’

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The Guardian, 20th June 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Case Comment: R (on the application of KBR, Inc) v Director of the Serious Fraud Office – UKSC Blog

In this post, Omar Qureshi, Eoin O’Shea, Amy Wilkinson and Karishma Gadhia, who all work at CMS and have a special interest in corporate crime matters, comment on the decision handed down by the UK Supreme Court earlier this month in the matter R (on the application of KBR, Inc) v Director of the Serious Fraud Office [2021] UKSC 2, which concerned whether the Director of the Serious Fraud Office can issue a notice pursuant to section 2(3) of the Criminal Justice 1987 requiring a foreigner to produce material held overseas.

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UKSC Blog, 24th February 2021

Source: ukscblog.com

High Court refuses to strike out solicitor’s surveillance harassment claim – Legal Futures

‘The High Court has refused to strike out claims of harassment brought by a solicitor and his wife over surveillance of them carried out at the instruction of a former client.’

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Legal Futures, 30th November 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

FCA pursues Gavin Woodhouse’s ex-business partner in high court – The Guardian

‘The former business partner of the disgraced entrepreneur Gavin Woodhouse is being pursued by the Financial Conduct Authority in the high court over alleged links to care home investments in which investors appear to “have lost at least £30m”.’

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The Guardian, 12th November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

POCA disclosure orders, notices and overseas recipients (Faerman v SFO): James Fletcher for Lexis Nexis – 5SAH

‘Although the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) did not bring to the court’s attention a Supreme Court decision (that held a notice issued under a disclosure order could not be sent to someone outside the jurisdiction) that did not invalidate the disclosure order itself and the non-disclosure was not sufficient to merit the discharge of the disclosure order.’

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5SAH, 30th July 2020

Source: www.5sah.co.uk

Serious Fraud Office prosecutes Airbus subsidiary over alleged corruption – The Guardian

‘The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is prosecuting a UK subsidiary of Europe’s largest aerospace multinational, Airbus, along with three men over alleged corruption in an arms deal with Saudi Arabia.’

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The Guardian, 30th July 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

G4S fined £44m by Serious Fraud Office over electronic tagging – The Guardian

‘Security firm G4S has been fined £44m by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) as part of an agreement that will see it avoid prosecution for overcharging the Ministry of Justice for the electronic tagging of offenders, some of whom had died.’

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The Guardian, 10th July 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Libor rigging inquiry shut down by Serious Fraud Office – BBC News

‘An investigation into the rigging of Libor, the benchmark interest rate that tracks the cost of borrowing cash, has been unexpectedly closed.’

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BBC News, 19th October 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

ENRC targets SFO in £70m ‘privilege breach’ claim – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 28th, 2019 in misfeasance in public office, news, privacy, Serious Fraud Office by sally

‘The saga surrounding the Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) long-running probe into Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) took another twist this week as the multinational mining group filed a £70m High Court claim accusing the fraudbusting agency of misfeasance in public office.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 27th March 2019

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk