Category: Cross-Border
UK Publishes Guidance on Failure to Prevent Fraud: Companies Without “Reasonable Prevention Procedures” Could Be Held Criminally Liable
On 6 November 2024, the UK government published guidance in respect of the failure to prevent fraud offence, which was introduced in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA).Under this offence, companies may be held criminally liable if they did not have ‘reasonable prevention procedures’ in place when a fraudulent act was […]
Online Service Providers: Obligations Under The UK’s Online Safety Act 2023
The UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA) 2023, which became law on 26 October 2023, imposes extensive new obligations on certain types of online service providers, requiring them to protect their users by identifying, mitigating, and managing risks relating to illegal and harmful content. The OSA applies to certain service providers […]
When Are Redactions Reasonable?
The long-running investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) into Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) has provided several points of instructive guidance during its lifetime – and that trend looks set to continue. The most recent matter before the High Court[1] examined certain redactions the SFO made to a report it […]
Are You Really Prepared to Prevent Fraud?
In a landmark day for regulatory authorities in the United Kingdom, the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act came into force on 26 October 2023. The act will have a material impact on the manner in which the authorities combat money laundering, fraud and other economic crimes within the jurisdiction. […]
Marketing of Cryptoassets – UK’s Financial Conduct Authority Issues ‘Final Warning’
Regardless of whether you are in the UK, or the type of technology you use, companies marketing ‘qualifying cryptoassets’ to customers in the UK will need to comply with the financial promotions regime of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK’s financial regulator. These measures will have a significant impact […]
Failing to Prepare is Preparing to Fail: UK Government Proposes ‘Failure to Prevent Fraud’ Corporate Criminal Offence
Economic crime has risen to such a level in the United Kingdom that UK Finance, a trade association for the UK banking and financial services sector, considers financial fraud to be a ‘national security threat’. More than £750 million was stolen from banking customers by fraudsters in the first half […]
Corporate Criminal Liability in the UK – What’s Next?
On 10 June 2022, the UK Law Commission published the results of its review into the laws that govern corporate criminal liability in the UK and its proposals to reform them. There has been a long-held concern amongst enforcement authorities, and legal commentators, that current UK law makes it exceptionally difficult […]
Bloomberg LP v. ZXC: Privacy Triumphs
The UK Supreme Court has handed down its highly anticipated judgment in the matter of Bloomberg LP v. ZXC [2022] UKSC 5. As we explained in our 16 February 2022 Cooley blog, the case highlighted the tension between the privacy interests of individuals under investigation who have not been charged with a crime and […]
UK Supreme Court Considers Privacy Rights of Executives Under Investigation
Two recent cases in the UK courts highlight the tension between an individual’s right to privacy during a criminal investigation and the freedom of the press to report on the investigation as a matter of public interest. Historically, the UK courts and authorities have largely protected the identities of individuals […]
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 […]