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R (Greyhound Board of Great Britain Ltd) v Welsh Ministers [2026] EWHC 670 (Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? The ruling reinforces the constitutional divide between the courts and the legislature. It explains that the scheme and framework of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (GWA 2006) embody that separation of powers, and that any judicial attempt to recognise and enforce a common law obligation on Welsh Ministers to consult prior to introducing legislation in the Senedd would trespass upon that boundary. This is not a departure from established principle; case law has already upheld comparable rules for lawmakers in Scotland and at Westminster. However, this is the first express confirmation of the position for Welsh lawmakers, and the first time this dimension of the GWA 2006 has been analysed in such depth. The court examined earlier
The solution arrived through the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC), a quasi‑judicial body handling mass claims, created under UN Security Council Resolution 687. By addressing environmental harm—most notably via its ‘F4’ claim class—the UNCC set a seminal benchmark shaping how international law and contemporary arbitral panels allocate financial responsibility for wartime ecological devastation. With present-day wars in areas such as Eastern Europe and the Middle East bringing dam breaches, strikes on chemical facilities, and the burning of farmland, the UNCC’s legacy endures as an essential reference point for states, global investors, and companies engaged in post‑conflict arbitration. The F4 claims: Quantifying the unquantifiable Prior to the 1990s, mechanisms in international law for war reparations overwhelmingly favoured property loss, foregone earnings, and bodily injury. The natural world was commonly treated as a mute, non-compensable victim of armed hostilities...
Understanding the farming business as a business Many farms still use long-standing structures that arose by habit, not strategy. Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common. While once effective, such setups can cause major issues around succession, tax planning and involving the next generation. A corporate team can take a fresh, business-led view of the farm, asking: Who owns the land and other critical assets? Who manages daily operations? Who carries the risk and who enjoys the return? What is the enduring plan for succession? From this review, the team can confirm whether the current setup is fit for purpose or if an alternative — for example an updated partnership agreement, a company, a limited liability partnership, or a blended model — would better meet the family’s aims. Tax efficiency through joined-up advice Tax sits at the centre of most
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Five former Glencore traders, company directors and the group’s ex-global oil chief, billionaire Alex Beard, now face numerous counts for funnelling corrupt payments to officials across West Africa, in a scheme stretching back over 15 years. According to the SFO press release, the accused are charged in relation to the allocation of various oil contracts covering Cameroon, Nigeria and the Ivory Coast between 2007 and 2014. Two defendants are further accused of falsifying invoices sent to Glencore’s London office, described as service fees to a Nigerian oil consultancy, from 2007 to 2011. The investigation may broaden after the SFO stated on 9 August 2024 that it plans to file additional charges as it pushes forward with its bribery inquiry. This ranks among the agency’s most prominent matters in very recent times and, given the scope of the counts, could be the very...
In other developments, a British- Chinese defendant was found guilty of laundering proceeds from a large-scale bitcoin scam; two traders convicted of manipulating rates secured permission to challenge their cases before the UK’s top court; and the Court of Appeal set out the scope of the National Crime Agency’s authority to stem illicit funds. Here, Law360 unpacks the standout Corporate Crime and civil fraud matters from the last half-year, highlighting key developments and outcomes. SFO misses on Saudi bribery trial In March 2024, two Britons accused of funnelling £9.7 million to Saudi officials, after an SFO probe into corruption tied to a multibillion-pound defence deal, were cleared of the principal bribery charges. One defendant, Jeffrey Cook — formerly at the Ministry of Defence and a past executive at GPT Special Project Management — received two-and-a-half years’ imprisonment for a lesser offence of accepting...
In this issue: Financial sanctions AML and other financial crime Other Practice Compliance updates this week Daily and weekly news alerts Trackers New and updated content Financial sanctions FCDO adds information on regulations concerning sanctions on Russia The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office ( FCDO) has added information about the Russia ( Sanctions) ( EU Exit) ( Amendment) ( No 3) Regulations 2024, SI 2024/834. The FCDO stated that SI 2024/834, reg 57F on the specification of ships has been amended so a ship can be specified for any activity intended to destabilise Ukraine or to gain benefit from, or support, the Government of Russia. See: LNB News 05/08/2024 53. FCDO launches new UK Sanctions List Search Function The FCDO has launched a new UK Sanctions List Search Function, enabling users to find designated persons without downloading the entire list. See: LNB News 02/08/2024 80. Navigating UK sanctions in bankruptcy...
Guidance on the UK’s new failure to prevent fraud offence Guidance on the UK’s new failure to prevent fraud offence is expected within the next three months, raising the prospect that the offence could take effect by April next year, according to MLex. The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, approved by UK legislators last October, contains a clause requiring large businesses to establish ‘reasonable procedures’ to shield themselves from prosecution for failing to prevent fraud. The approach reflects the UK’s Bribery Act 2010, under which corporates may face prosecution for failing to prevent bribery. This closely mirrors the existing legal framework......
This creates a significant legal exposure for UK businesses that import cotton from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region ( XUAR), alongside other higher-risk goods like cocoa, sugar and cobalt, too. This piece examines the Court of Appeal’s judgment and considers what it means in practice for businesses, including in relation to companies’ supply chain due diligence. Background In April 2020, the World Uyghur Congress ( WUC) submitted material to the NCA alleging that grave human rights violations were occurring in the XUAR and asserting that cotton from the region was likely the product of forced labour. The NCA refused to open an inquiry, saying it was not obliged to act unless a particular consignment of cotton had been identified as criminal property. It further maintained that where a party in the supply chain had paid adequate consideration, ie, market value, the goods could no longer...
What are the key findings of this Report? The Report identifies four principal findings: legislative reform: the previous UK administration introduced sweeping legislative, operational and policy changes to deploy sanctions against kleptocracy. This encompasses creating the Combatting Kleptocracy Cell ( CKC) within the National Crime Agency ( NCA) and setting up a new Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation ( OTSI) fragmented regulatory framework: a major impediment to enforcement is the UK’s fragmented sanctions system. Multiple agencies and their enforcement activity lack a coherent strategy, transparency and coordination limited civil enforcement: there has been little inclination to levy or publicise civil penalties for violations, shown by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation ( OFSI) having only ‘named and shamed’ one company and issued a single fine for post‑invasion breaches of the Russian sanctions regime. OFSI and HMRC, which enforce trade sanctions, have tended to prefer gentle...
R (oao World Uyghur Congress) v NCA [2024] EWCA Civ 715 Many companies now confront a fresh, or intensified, risk of prosecution for criminality within their supply chains and for linked money laundering offences. These exposures may emerge in unforeseen ways. Clothing producers, furniture manufacturers and food suppliers could be affected, as might investment firms, banks and commodity traders that are, whether directly or indirectly, connected to the proceeds of crime. In effect, a suite of laws designed to protect the environment and working conditions worldwide appears to have acquired sharper teeth in the UK. Enforcement authorities may initiate more investigations and prosecutions in this field, where previously they considered themselves unable to intervene. The consequences could shape everyday operations, even where businesses are never investigated or prosecuted by the state. Organisations may need to reassess their compliance frameworks to ensure they do not commit money...
In this issue: Financial sanctions Other financial crime Data protection Other Practice Compliance updates this week Lex Talk®Practice Compliance: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts Trackers New and updated content Latest Q& A Financial sanctions Russia ( Sanctions) ( EU Exit) ( Amendment) ( No 3) Regulations 2024 SI 2024/834: These Regulations are made in exercise of powers conferred by the Sanctions and Anti- Money Laundering Act 2018 ( SAMLA 2018) in relation to assimilated law. They amend one item of UK secondary legislation and revoke another item of UK secondary legislation concerning sanctions. They came into force on 31 July 2024. See: LNB News 31/07/2024 21. Syria ( Sanctions) ( EU Exit) ( Amendment) ( No 2) Regulations 2024 SI 2024/833: These Regulations are made using legislative powers under the Sanctions and Anti- Money...
According to a ministry news release, journalists, researchers and 'civil society actors committed to financial transparency' will need to set up a free account with the National Institute of Industrial Property in order to gain access. This decision came after consulting members of those three groups, so as to devise a system that would enable them to continue to carry out their work, the ministry said. Any person......
The solicitors watchdog has confirmed, after consultation, that contributions from individual solicitors and the firms it oversees will rise for the first time in five years. For the year beginning 1 November 2024, individual payments into the compensation fund will be £90, up from £30 the previous year, while firms will contribute £2,220, up from £660. In a statement, SRA chief executive Paul Philip said the fund is vital to protecting the public and maintaining confidence in the profession. The regulator had consistently reduced payments to the fund over the last five years. However, an increase is now required due to an exceptional volume of recent claims following significant interventions, he said. The fund has consequently faced mounting strain as the SRA has needed to step in much more often and close down additional firms to safeguard the public in actions referred to as...
In this issue: Practice Compliance outlook Financial sanctions AML, CTF & counter-proliferation financing Other financial crime Data protection Other matters This week’s Practice Compliance updates Daily and weekly news alerts New and refreshed content Practice Compliance forecast Practice Compliance forecast New Practice Compliance forecast as at 23 July 2024 Our latest Practice Compliance forecast (dated 23 July 2024) has now launched. This month we cover: (1) three new Bills unveiled in the King’s Speech on 17 July 2024 — the Digital Information and Smart Data Bill, the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, and the Equality ( Race and Disability) Bill; (2) an update on the FCA’s consultation on the handling of PEPs, (3) the results of the SRA consultation on its draft business plan and budget, and (4) the closure of the SRA consultation on reforms to permit it to regulate CILEX members. See News Analysis: New Practice Compliance forecast as at 23 July 2024......
The survey gathered input from 14 of the 28 insurers listed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority ( SRA) for the 2024 indemnity year. Conducted anonymously via Qualtrics and in partnership with the International Underwriting Association, it found that 38% of respondents foresaw potential difficulties at renewal, although the exact tally was not provided. Browne Jacobson reported that solicitors began considering leaving the PII market after the Court of Appeal’s January 2024 decision in Discovery Land Co LLC and others v Axis Specialty Europe SE. The firm noted that the ruling heightened worries about tightly drawn aggregation of claims under the SRA’s minimum terms and conditions, which influence the limit of indemnity. Ed Anderson, a partner at Browne Jacobson who deals with PII, ......
Our Practice Compliance forecast as at 23 July 2024 monitors proposed regulatory developments relevant to law firm compliance, helping you prepare for changes affecting your organisation. Please read it closely; highlights that should be on your radar appear below. New items we’re tracking this month SRA firm AML and sanctions data requirements — the SRA will shortly request from all regulated firms: details of matters falling within the scope of the MLR 2017; any contact with or involvement in the sanctions regime, including any designated persons; and information on firms’ submission of suspicious activity reports to the NCA......
Vneshprombank LLC v Bedzhamov; Kireeva (as bankruptcy trustee of Georgy Bedzhamov) v Bedzhamov [2024] EWHC 1048 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? The court’s construction of the Russia ( Sanctions) ( EU Exit) Regulations 2019, SI 2019/855, reg 11 (‘ Regulation 11’) is unlikely to surprise criminal practitioners; the real practical weight of the ruling lies in its broader analysis of what amounts to a ‘reasonable cause to suspect’. Regulation 11 imposes an objective yardstick: based on the information actually known to the decision-maker, would a reasonable person suspect the funds are those of a designated person—would, rather than might or could? The court also indicated it would not accept at face value claims that prior owners within a corporate chain had truly relinquished all control. Prepared to look beyond corporate formalities, the judgment sets out useful pointers for...
The convention has stood at the vanguard of global action against bribery and remains indispensable, given corruption erodes fair markets, hampers economic growth, weakens democratic institutions and damages the rule of law. Over the past twenty-five years, it has raised public consciousness and spurred statutory reforms across numerous countries, reshaped business behaviour and energised civil society. Yet it has also confronted enduring obstacles, including patchy enforcement and political headwinds. This piece reviews the convention’s achievements and difficulties, and underscores its role in expanding transparency and accountability around the world. Background The convention is a binding international accord among signatories that commit to outlaw the bribery of foreign public officials and to undergo rigorous peer evaluation of progress in putting the convention into effect. Parties must hold companies and individuals to account through effective and proportionate penalties, and extend mutual legal assistance to overseas...
In this issue Financial sanctions Financial crime Data protection Other practice Compliance updates this week Daily and weekly news alerts Trackers New and updated content Financial sanctions Hellard v OJSC Rossiysky Kredit Bank (in liquidation) The Chancery Division handed down decisions concerning the applying trustees in bankruptcy of M, an insolvent individual who moved to the UK from Russia in 2015. The trustees sought the court’s assistance by directions under s 303(2) of the Insolvency Act 1986 and/or declaratory relief. The court concluded that, in carrying out their functions as bankruptcy trustees, they were not thereby contravening the prohibitions on providing financial services contained in the Russia ( Sanctions) ( EU Exit) Regulations 2019. See: [2024] All ER ( D) 48 ( Jul). OFSI updates guidance on financial sanctions for Russia The Office of Financial Sanctions...
The parliamentary vote earlier this month saw parties fix on headline voter worries: the economy, the cost-of-living crisis and healthcare. With a commanding lead in the polls, Labour avoided spooking the horses or appearing anti-business by holding back from heavy new corporate rules, preferring caution over setting out onerous regulations for companies. Now, however, in office with a sizeable majority, it may move to tighten the screws decisively on money launderers and other financial offenders—potentially as soon as 10 July 2024, when its priority legislative programme is set out in the King's Speech ceremony. Legislation As an opening step, ministers could revive the Criminal Justice Bill, which fell in the pre-election rush to push through outstanding laws. Although it made headlines for controversial plans aimed at issues such as rough sleeping, the bill also contained reforms designed to help prosecutors more readily seize illicit,...
Sir Keir Starmer, the newly elected Prime Minister, previously worked as a leading criminal defence barrister and as Director of Public Prosecutions. Accordingly, we can anticipate an administration led by a premier with clear, robust views on policy and law-making around financial crime, and on the criminal justice system more generally. Starmer’s principal choices for the relevant ministerial and law officer positions are, however, not drawn from classic white-collar backgrounds: Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood is expected to face a bulging in-tray, tackling prison overcrowding and a faltering courts system. The new Attorney General, Richard Hermer KC, is a heavyweight practitioner in human rights as well as public and private international law. Only Home Secretary Yvette Cooper continues from the opposition team that produced ‘ Labour's Policy Review: Tackling Serious Fraud and White Collar Crime’ in 2022. A look at the 2024 Labour Party...
In this issue: Financial sanctions Other financial crime Other Practice Compliance updates this week Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Trackers Latest Q& A Financial sanctions Examining the EU sanctions directive approach to breaches Law360: In April 2024, the EU signed off Directive 2024/1226, making sanctions breaches a criminal offence. The reform will materially reshape EU enforcement by harmonising rules on breaches of EU sanctions and by introducing shared definitions of criminal offences and penalties. See News Analysis: Examining the EU sanctions directive approach to breaches. FCDO, EJCU and OFSI update numerous sanctions guidances The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office ( FCDO), the Export Control Joint Unit ( EJCU) and the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation ( OFSI) have refreshed a range of sanctions guidance to add material on director disqualification legislation. This includes the Zimbabwe sanctions: guidance, Venezuela sanctions: guidance, Republic of Guinea- Bissau sanctions: guidance, Bosnia and...
The directive marks the culmination of a complex process. First, the EU needed to add the breach of EU sanctions rules to the catalogue of EU crimes. This occurred on 22 November 2022 via Decision 2022/2332, the first expansion of the list since the 2007 Treaty of Lisbon. Soon after that decision, the European Commission tabled a draft directive to foster a common, effective sanctions enforcement approach across member states. The directive has now entered into force, and member states have 12 months to transpose it into national law. In this article, we sketch the main contours of the new directive, including fresh offences, potential liability for infringements and a clearer route for voluntary self-disclosures. Key aspects Scope The directive applies to breaches of ‘restrictive measures’ adopted under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union or Article 215 of the Treaty on the...
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When evaluating a general damages claim, the practitioner ought initially to refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG)...
This Practice Note This Practice Note reviews mechanisms used in settling litigation. A Tomlin order consists of a consent order paired with a schedule. It operates to stay proceedings on terms that have been agreed. The provisions contained in the schedule may remain confidential. This Practice Note describes the scope of confidentiality attaching to the schedule and sets out how it differs from a standard consent order. Sample wording for a Tomlin order is included, alongside links to precedents, as well as guidance on court approval. It also addresses varying, setting aside and enforcing a Tomlin order, including the considerations the court will take into account when handling applications for each. Further guidance is provided on interpreting and applying the relevant provisions of the CPR; however, some courts and divisions impose very specific requirements for both drafting and approval, and for approaching the schedule and confidentiality issues. Accordingly, you must consider the particular rules and court guide provisions in the forum where your claim is proceeding when drawing up the Tomlin order...
Date [ date ] Parties [ name of Landlord ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Landlord) [ name of Tenant ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Tenant) [ [ name of Guarantor ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Guarantor) ] [ [ name of Mortgagee ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Mortgagee) ] Definitions Within this Deed, the terms below shall be interpreted as follows: [ Annual Rent • the annual sum reserved under the Lease; ] [ Insurance Rent • the Tenant’s share of the Landlord’s costs of insuring the Property (as set out in the Lease); ] Lease • the lease of the Property dated [ date ], entered into between (1) [ the Landlord OR [ name ...
I, [ name ], of [ address ], solemnly and sincerely state that: [ Matters to be verified, set out in numbered paragraphs ] I make this solemn statement in good conscience, believing it to be true, and pursuant to the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835. DECLARED at [ details ] this [ day ] day of [ month and year ] Before me ................................................................................ [ signature of the person before whom the declaration is made ] A [ commissioner for oaths OR [ solicitor OR [ insert other qualification ] ] authorised to administer oaths ]...
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