Legal firms call for reform of Serious Fraud Office after ex-Barclays execs acquitted February 28, 2020 Law firms have called for reform of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) today after three former Barclays executives were cleared of financial crisis-era fraud to save the bank. Roger Jenkins, Thomas Kalaris and Richard Boath were all acquitted of charges of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation in connection with the 2008 Qatar fundraisings. [...]
Cleared Tesco executive launches legal action against supermarket following £250m accounting scandal January 25, 2019 A former Tesco executive recently cleared over the retail giant’s £250m accounting scandal is suing the supermarket following the collapse of the Serious Fraud Office's (SFO) case against him last year. Chris Bush, one of Tesco’s most senior employees who joined the supermarket chain upon leaving school, was acquitted of charges of fraud and false [...]
Fighting shadows: Each technology advance puts new weapons in the hands of cyber-criminals February 13, 2020 US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, talking about the benefits of openness and transparency, famously said that sunlight is the best disinfectant. And, conversely, we are all rightly suspicious of anything that hides in the shadows and conceals identity and motive. Global cybercrime is able to exploit technology to create anonymity and avoid accountability as [...]
Former Serco directors charged with defrauding Ministry of Justice over tagging contract December 16, 2019 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has charged two former Serco executives with fraud and false accounting as part of an investigation into the outsourcing giant’s electronic tagging contract. Nicholas Woods and Simon Marshall have both been charged with fraud by false representation and false accounting in relation to representations made to the Ministry of Justice [...]
Johnson launches commission to tackle racism in the UK June 15, 2020 Boris Johnson has announced a cross-government commission to examine racial inequality in the UK following weeks of Black Lives Matter protests. Writing in the Telegraph, the Prime Minister said “no-one who cares about this country” could ignore the anti-racist protests that have swept the country in response to the killing of George Floyd last month. [...]
Is the SFO giving executives an easy ride in bribery cases? February 25, 2020 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has developed a lucrative model of targeting large companies in bribery and corruption cases, striking a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) to suspend criminal charges and extracting a sizeable financial penalty. Last month, the SFO agreed a €991m (£831m) DPA with planemaker Airbus as part of a €3.6bn deal with prosecutors [...]
Churchill statue and the Cenotaph: London monuments boarded up ahead of protests June 12, 2020 London’s iconic statue of Sir Winston Churchill and the Cenotaph have been boarded up as fears of violence grow over Black Lives Matter protests set to take place this weekend. Protective fences were placed around both memorials overnight as officials anticipate they could become hotspots for clashes between protesters during demonstrations this weekend. London mayor [...]
Ericsson to pay more than $1bn to settle US corruption probe December 7, 2019 Ericsson has agreed to pay $1.2bn (£913m) to resolve a US corruption probe. The Swedish telecoms firm has settled the investigation into corruption, which included the bribing of government officials, the US Department of Justice said on Friday. The bribing of officials took place over multiple years and in countries such as China and Vietnam. [...]
Four Chinese military hackers charged over US Equifax breach February 10, 2020 The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has charged four members of China’s military in relation to the 2017 Equifax hack, which saw the data of more than 145m Americans breached. The nine-count indictment accused the Chinese military of hacking into Equifax’s computer networks, maintaining unauthorised access to them and stealing sensitive, personally identifiable information about [...]
UK threatens to walk away from EU trade talks if no progress by June February 27, 2020 Downing Street will demand autonomy over “our own laws and political life” in a future trade deal with the EU – and will walk away from talks as early as June if it appears that an agreement is not likely, according to the UK’s negotiating mandate. The 30-page mandate, published minutes ago, clearly sets out [...]