The US-UK Data Access Agreement: A new dawn for transatlantic criminal investigations?
In June 2019 we wrote about the Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Act 2019 (COPOA), an unheralded piece of legislation that created a framework for the government to enter reciprocal agreements with other nations to streamline the process of obtaining stored electronic data from companies based overseas. In October 2019, the […]
Skansen Interiors Limited: The UK’s first contested prosecution under S7 of the Bribery Act
The recent conviction of UK company Skansen Interiors Limited (SIL), for the corporate offence of failure to prevent bribery has caused controversy. This is the first conviction under S7 of the Bribery Act after a contested trial where the company self-reported but was still brought to trial. Commentators are asking […]
Unexplained Wealth Orders coming into force
The regime for Unexplained Wealth Orders will come into force on 31 January. This is a novel power in the UK. Law enforcement agencies such as the National Crime Agency and Serious Fraud Office will be able to apply to Court, without notice to the recipients, for an Order requiring […]
Sanctions: what tech companies should consider
While sanctions restrict trade and dealings with specified individuals, entities and states, export controls restrict the distribution of specified products & services, namely military goods and items that can have a dual civilian and military use. In the past, compliance with sanction and export regimes was largely seen to be […]
Failure to Prevent Criminal Facilitation of Tax Evasion
The new UK “failure to prevent criminal facilitation of tax evasion” domestic and overseas offences will almost certainly become effective in or before September 2017. What does this mean for companies and firms? The offences threaten criminal liability in connection with policing the acts of others. Strict liability is imposed […]
Tesco announces Deferred Prosecution Agreement
It was announced last week that Tesco PLC’s subsidiary, Tesco Stores Ltd, has finalised the terms of a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with the SFO (subject to court ratification on 10 April 2017). The DPA concludes the SFO’s two-year investigation into accounting practices in 2014 that left a £326 million […]
UK/European crime-fighting coordination post Brexit “a priority”
As anticipated in our blog last June, the impact of Brexit on how the UK’s crime-fighting agencies will interact with their European counterparts is now firmly on the agenda. On 6 March, the Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, announced that remaining in the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) system will be “a […]
Government considering reform to hold companies more accountable for economic crime
The Ministry of Justice has announced that it has commenced a consultation with businesses on the introduction of legislation aimed at tackling corporate economic crime and is seeking views on the extent to which reform is required. This follows on from the Prime Minister’s anti-corruption summit on 12 May 2016 […]
The new Criminal Finances Bill setting out new anti-money laundering powers has had its first reading
On 13 October 2016 the Criminal Finances Bill (the “Bill”) had its first reading in the House of Commons. In addition to introducing Unexplained Wealth Orders (described in our blog below), the Bill sets out a number of new anti-money laundering powers. The Bill will: enable the seizure and forfeiture […]
Home Affairs Select Committee concludes UK needs to do more to address money laundering and corruption
The House of Commons Home Affairs Committee has published a report entitled ‘Proceeds of Crime’ in which it is highly critical of the efforts being made and systems in place in the UK to prevent money laundering and to recover the proceeds of crime. Chair to the Committee, Rt Hon […]