Whistleblower reports to HMRC hit five year high November 13, 2023 Whistleblower reports to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have hit their highest level in five years as lawyers suggest the rise can be linked to a broadening sense of “public outrage”. According to a freedom of information request to HMRC by City firm RPC, fraud reports have surged by 47 per cent in the past [...]
Lloyd’s of London warns major cyber attack on payments could cost world $3.5 trillion October 18, 2023 A major cyber attack on a financial services payments system could cost trillions, Lloyd's has found, as demand for cyber insurance booms.
Reported cyber security breaches increase threefold for financial services firms September 25, 2023 Cyber security breaches for UK financial services firms have increased threefold from the years of 2021-2022 and 2022-2023, with the highest – reportedly – being in the pensions sector. New research by the international law firm RPC shows that the amount of reports of cyber security breaches to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) has increased [...]
70 per cent drop in cartel whistleblowing to CMA since 2018 should cause ‘concern’ September 17, 2023 The UK’s competition watchdog should be concerned by a 70 per cent drop in whistleblowing on illegal cartels in the last five years, top lawyers have said. A freedom of information (FOI) request from law firm RPC showed the staggering drop in reporting, down from 1,442 calls in 2017 to just 427 in 2022, City [...]
Pension bosses under fire for ‘overconfident’ account of Truss-triggered LDI crisis September 11, 2023 Pension bosses have come under fire from experts today after giving an “overconfident” assessment of their role in tackling the crisis that engulfed the sector in the wake of Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget last year.
HMRC paid out over £500,000 to tax fraud whistleblowers – but lawyers say rewards should be higher August 21, 2023 Lawyers are calling for the UK’s tax authority to expand its whistleblower rewards scheme as new figures show that HMRC paid out over £500,000 to people blowing the whistle on tax fraud. HMRC has paid out over £509,000 to individuals providing evidence about tax fraud during the course of the last financial year, up from [...]
Electric vehicle charging roll-out slowed by local authority delays, research shows July 31, 2023 The roll-out of electric vehicle charge points has been slowed by delays at the local authority level and is currently set to fall well short of government targets, new research has found. FOI data obtained by the law firm RPC shows 8,000 chargers were installed by local authorities in the UK over the last year, [...]
New SFO director has ‘a massive mountain to climb’ as the anti-fraud agency looks to rebuild July 26, 2023 The new director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) faces a herculean task in rebuilding the agency’s reputation after a number of failures over the last few years, top City lawyers have warned. Earlier this month Nick Ephgrave, the former assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, was appointed as the next director of the agency [...]
Retailers struggle to rack in sales in June as shoppers continue to scale back July 7, 2023 Retailers continued to show signs of struggling in June, new figures show, as sales growth remained well below inflation due to customers scaling back their shopping habits due to the cost of living crisis. Total like-for-like sales in June grew 1.9 per cent from last year’s base of 8.4 per cent, according to figures from [...]
Retailer insolvencies jump to higher level than pandemic as brands buckle under economic pressure July 3, 2023 A squeeze on shoppers’ finances has increased the number of retailers being plunged into hot water, new research shows, as the cost of living crisis continues to decimate businesses. As inflation sits at a sticky 8.7 per cent, the number of retailers entering insolvency jumped 56 per cent in the past year, according to figures [...]