Serious Fraud Office increasingly asking firms to hand over data without court approval September 17, 2018 Big businesses are increasingly being asked to hand over information for investigations to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) without the government agency going through the courts for approval, according to a report out today. International law firm Pinsent Masons said the number of 'Section 2' notices issued by the SFO has more than doubled in the past [...]
TfL: Crime on London public transport soars December 5, 2019 Crime on London’s public transport network has surged by 30 per cent in the past year. Transport for London (TfL) today released statistics for the first quarter of 2019-20, revealing the increase in crime on its services was three-times as large as the increase for the capital as a whole. Read more: London Night Tube [...]
London forex trader sues Citigroup for $112m over ‘malicious’ prosecution October 2, 2019 A London-based former Citigroup trader is suing the bank for over $112m (£91m), alleging the bank made materially false and malicious statements to US prosecutors which led to him being tried in New York on foreign exchange rigging-charges. Rohan Ramchandani, former European head of the US bank’s forex spot market trading desk, is alleging Citigroup [...]
Financial secrecy is the enemy in the fight against corruption February 24, 2020 Here’s a stat to start your Monday morning: 70 per cent of grand corruption cases, when politicians or their associations misappropriate and use public funds for their personal benefit, involve the use of anonymous companies. Last month’s Luanda Leaks are a poignant reminder of how transnational and complex corruption has become. Isabel dos Santos, Africa’s [...]
DEBATE: Have the Conservatives re-established themselves as the party of law and order? October 2, 2019 Have the Conservatives re-established themselves as the party of law and order? Jack Powell, editor of 1828, says YES. The home secretary stands in front of the police federation, berating them about everything from decades-long scandals to not working with her constructively enough Five years later, one of her successors pledges to give her full [...]
DEBATE: Should the next Prime Minister legalise recreational cannabis? July 10, 2019 Should the next Prime Minister legalise recreational cannabis? Morgan Schondelmeier, head of development at the Adam Smith Institute, which this week published a new paper on cannabis legalisation, says YES. The next Prime Minister must give the green light to legalising cannabis. We’ve seen the push in the UK towards relaxing the rules around medicinal [...]
Woman who spent £16m in Harrods will not be extradited to Azerbaijan September 26, 2019 A judge ruled today that a woman who spent £16m in Harrods and was the target of the UK’s first unexplained wealth order (UWO) will not be extradited to Azerbaijan. Zamira Hajiyeva, whose banker husband is serving a 15-year sentence for fraud and embezzlement, faced extradition to Azerbaijan to stand trial on multiple fraud charges. [...]
US prosecutors probe fresh allegations of technology theft by Huawei August 29, 2019 US prosecutors are reportedly investigating new instances of alleged technology theft by Chinese telecoms giant Huawei. The firm has been accused of stealing intellectual property from individuals and companies over several years and recruiting employees from its rivals, the Wall Street Journal reported. Read more: Britain to make 5G decision on Huawei in autumn The [...]
Republicans acquit Donald Trump in impeachment trial February 6, 2020 President Donald Trump was acquitted yesterday in his Senate impeachment trial, saved by fellow Republicans who rallied to protect him nine months before he asks voters in a deeply divided America to give him a second White House term. The businessman-turned-politician, 73, survived only the third presidential impeachment trial in U.S. history – just like [...]
US charges JP Morgan precious metals traders with market manipulation and ‘racketeering’ September 16, 2019 JP Morgan’s global head of precious metals trading has been charged in the US with running an eight-year “racketeering conspiracy” to manipulate markets. Michael Nowak, 45, who ran the bank’s global precious metals trading desk, faces charges of a “massive, multiyear scheme to manipulate the market for precious metals futures contracts and defraud market participants,” [...]