UK government bans Bain & Co from competing for contracts over role in South African corruption scandal August 3, 2022 US consulting firm Bain & Co has been banned from competing for UK government contracts, after a review by the Cabinet Office determined the Boston consultancy “guilty of grave professional misconduct” over its role in alleged “state capture and corruption by the South African government”. As first reported by the Financial Times, Cabinet Minister Jacob [...]
Self-proclaimed Bitcoin inventor Craig Wright awarded just £1 in damages after winning libel lawsuit August 2, 2022 A High Court judge has awarded an Australian cryptographer, Craig Wright –who claims to have invented Bitcoin – just £1 in damages, after the academic secured victory in a libel lawsuit against a YouTuber, who said he was lying about having invented the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency. The award comes after the academic – who claims [...]
UK’s FCA to create 100 jobs through launch of new Leeds offices August 2, 2022 The UK’s financial watchdog today set out plans to hire 100 new staff at its newly opening Leeds office as it looks to bolster its headcount this year and meet the demands of an expanding regulatory remit. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced it has signed a lease for premises on 6 Queen Street, [...]
Insolvencies surge to highest rates since financial crash as voluntary bankruptcies hit record levels August 2, 2022 The UK government’s Insolvency Service today said it recorded a higher number of insolvencies over the past three months than at any other point in more than a decade, after the numbers of companies declaring voluntary bankruptcies hit their highest levels since records began. The past three months saw a total of 5,629 English and [...]
UK launches register of overseas property owners in clampdown on ‘corrupt elites’ August 1, 2022 Individuals that own UK properties via chains of “secretive” shell companies will from today be forced to reveal their true identities, after the UK government launched a new register of UK property owners today. The first-of-its-kind register will require those seeking to buy or own UK property via offshore entities to list the identities of [...]
Number of law firms fined by SRA increases following anti-money laundering compliance crackdown August 1, 2022 The number of fines against law firms, handed out by the UK’s solicitors’ watchdog, has increased six-fold over the past five years following an anti-money laundering compliance crackdown, according to data obtained by City A.M. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), which regulates more than 11,000 law firms in England and Wales, gave out just six [...]
‘The Great Resignation could be followed by a Great Redundancy,’ DWF chief says July 29, 2022 A downturn in the legal market could see widespread layoffs in the City’s top-ranking law firms, the head of London listed law firm DWF told City A.M. The lawyers that jumped ship in “big numbers” in pursuit of six-figure salaries in London’s most prestigious firms could soon be laid off, as the top firms make [...]
Money launderer jailed for nine years over scheme to smuggle £104m to Dubai July 28, 2022 The head of a money laundering operation, that saw millions smuggled out of Heathrow airport in suitcases and sent to Dubai, has been jailed for nine years. Emirati national Abdullah Mohammed Ali Bin Beyat Alfalasi, 47, ran a scheme that saw cash believed to be profits from drug dealing, collected from criminal groups across Britain [...]
Legal history: First-ever televised sentencing at Old Bailey hailed a ‘landmark moment’ as Ben Oliver gets life July 28, 2022 Judge Sarah Munro QC made legal history today as she sentenced 25-year-old Ben Oliver to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 10 years and eight months. It was the first televised sentencing to take place at the Old Bailey ever. The footage was being broadcast on news channels and being made available online through [...]
Court security guards call off strike after OCS offers pay deal July 28, 2022 Court security guards have called off plans to strike after outsourcing firm OCS offered to up their pay by up to 8.3 per cent and hand over a raft of other benefits. Workers employed by Crawley contractor OCS on the Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Services (HMCTS) contract have suspended plans to strike while they [...]