Financial Services Action Plan meaning

In this issue: Investigating criminal conduct Criminal procedure and evidence Proceeds of crime Sentencing Bribery, corruption, sanctions and export controls Consumer protection and cartels Cybercrime and data protection offences Environmental offences Financial services and pensions offences Health and safety and corporate manslaughter offences Insolvency offences and Companies Act offences Money laundering International Other corporate crime news Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Investigating criminal conduct Standards of candour in closed hearings, and corporate witness statements (Attorney General v BBC; R (‘Beth’) v IPT) When scrutinising MI5’s actions across two High Court cases, the court addressed the grave consequences of presenting inaccurate material within closed hearings. It outlined the tightly confined situations that can justify a departure from open justice under section 6 of the Justice and Security Act 2013 (JSA 2013). The court further...

In this issue: Investigating criminal conduct Criminal procedure and evidence Sentencing Bribery, corruption, sanctions and export controls Consumer protection and cartels Environmental offences Financial services and pensions offences Fraud, forgery, tax and theft offences Health and safety and corporate manslaughter offences Local authority prosecutions Money laundering International Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Investigating criminal conduct Refusal to repurpose evidence in civil proceedings for criminal charging decision (WFZ v British Broadcasting Corp) The High Court has recently clarified the circumstances in which a party will be permitted to rely on witness statements outside the proceedings in which they were first served. In ongoing injunction proceedings aimed at stopping publication of a BBC investigative report into sexual abuse allegations, the court determined that the accused could not use sensitive excerpts from that report in representations to the...

In this issue: Cross border criminal investigations Criminal procedure and evidence Proceeds of crime Bribery, corruption, sanctions and export controls Cybercrime and data protection offences Environmental offences Financial services and pensions offences Fraud, forgery, tax and theft offences Insolvency Local authority prosecutions Money laundering Corporate Crime in Scotland Other corporate crime and crime related news Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Cross border criminal investigations Companies should act as corporate enforcement develops. In late June 2025, SFO Director Nick Ephgrave met with Matthew Galeotti, head of the criminal division at the US Department of Justice (DOJ), and both reiterated a pledge to work together on prominent transnational investigations. Hayley Lund, partner, and Frankie Cowl, counsel, at Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, consider the UK’s shifting corporate enforcement landscape. See News Analysis: Companies must take action as...

This Practice Note offers a comprehensive primer on the UK’s anti‑money laundering (AML), counter‑terrorist financing (CTF) and countering proliferation financing (CPF) regime as it applies to financial services firms. It outlines: money laundering (ML), terrorist financing (TF) and proliferation financing (PF) the AML/CTF/CPF framework for financial services, including the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) role the UK’s statutory AML/CTF framework relevant FCA Handbook rules and guidance Joint Money Laundering Steering Group (JMLSG) Guidance the responsibilities of a firm’s Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) FCA AML/CTF reporting obligations: REP‑CRIM the Economic Crime (Anti‑Money Laundering Levy) a snapshot of key participants in the UK AML/CTF landscape for financial services UK AML/CTF legislative proposals, action plans and reforms impacting financial services For information on the FCA’s AML/CTF supervisory priority areas and sectors, common breaches of AML/CTF obligations, and ensuing FCA enforcement action and prosecutions, see Practice Note: Introduction to FCA supervisory and enforcement focus on AML/CTF requirements. What...

This Practice Note outlines how the UK regulates artificial intelligence (AI) under its National AI Strategy, spotlighting the proposed pro-innovation approach to AI regulation set out in the UK White Paper, and providing an overview of the relevant approach and guidance across key sectors. For more on AI and its regulation, see Practice Notes: Artificial intelligence and machine learning—an introduction to the technology Artificial intelligence—data protection Artificial intelligence—explainability Artificial intelligence—intellectual property Artificial intelligence in the workplace Artificial intelligence in the EU—the key legal issues Contractual considerations for the procurement of artificial intelligence—checklist To track major legal developments relating to AI, see Practice Notes: UK artificial intelligence—tracker and EU Artificial intelligence—tracker. The UK’s National AI Strategy AI is a swiftly developing technology with significant potential to reshape industries, drive economic growth, and influence many parts of society. The Conservative government identified AI as one of five critical technologies in its UK Science and Technology Framework. AI...

This Practice Note examines the powers contained in sections 339ZH–339ZK of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA 2002), pursuant to which the National Crime Agency (NCA) can obtain information orders against any person in the regulated sector who has filed a suspicious activity report (SAR). For wider guidance on SARs in general, see the Practice Notes: Authorised disclosure, protected disclosure and appropriate consent, and Reporting suspicions of money laundering and terrorist financing. Background Information orders were introduced for both legal and practical reasons. Within its action plan for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist finance, the government initially proposed legislation granting the NCA authority to require reporters to supply SAR-related information where necessary to meet the requirements of The Fourth Money Laundering Directive 2015/849/EU (MLD4). Following lengthy and noteworthy negotiations, the Council of the EU (the Council) formally adopted MLD4 in May 2015. All Member States were required to transpose MLD4 into domestic law by 26 June 2017. For additional detail, see Practice Note: Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (MLRs)—essentials...

Description of proposed outsourcing services [ Outline the nature of the services you plan to outsource, eg typing from digital dictation ] Proposed outsourcing supplier [ Identify the intended outsourcing supplier to whom this due diligence record applies ] Compliance check Internal due diligence completed ☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Not applicable [ Insert any comments or action points ] Pre-contract non-disclosure agreement signed ☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Not applicable [ Insert any comments or action points ] Supplier has completed the pre-contract audit questionnaire ☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Not applicable [ Insert any comments or action points ] Due diligence on the supplier completed ☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Not applicable [ Insert any comments or action points ] Risk assessment completed ☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Not applicable [ Insert any comments or action points ] Decision made to proceed ☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Not applicable [ Insert any comments or action points...