Law and the Justice System

A judge in England and Wales has granted a cryptocurrency exchange a court order requiring six other cryptocurrency exchanges to share information which could help it identify alleged fraudsters.

https://www.pinsentmasons.com/out-law/news/court-backs-cryptocurrency-exchange-bid-to-trace-alleged-fraudsters

Britain’s register of companies was reformed in 2011 to allow incorporations within 24 hours for £12. Now the number of firms on its books has soared – and so have the complaints

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/dec/03/crisis-uk-companies-house-fake-directors-fraud?CMP=share_btn_tw

When I last wrote in February about the rise in rampant fraud, the fraud minister had just resigned, fraud made up over 40 per cent of crime against individuals, and the Ukraine crisis was being exploited by malicious fraudsters to con victims. Little has changed.

https://www.politicshome.com/thehouse/article/tech-companies-failing-to-tackle-fraud-should-face-penalties

Government using six-year-old data while crime goes largely unchallenged, says National Audit Office

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/nov/15/home-offices-out-of-date-grasp-of-highlighted-by-watchdog?CMP=share_btn_tw

A “permissive culture” exists around fraud, and more joined-up action is needed to prevent scams from happening in the first place, according to a House of Lords committee.

https://www.irishnews.com/magazine/technology/2022/11/12/news/permissive_culture_towards_fraud_must_be_stopped_says_house_of_lords_committee-2903214/?param=ds441rif44T

Exclusive: party seeks amendment to financial services and markets bill and says ministers are failing on ‘new types of fraud’

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/nov/07/labour-calls-for-national-strategy-as-annual-losses-hit-1-3bn

HM Courts & Tribunal Service (HMCTS) should develop a single digital portal where the public and media can access “full information on court proceedings, court documents and any other relevant information”, MPs said today.

https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/mps-call-for-single-portal-for-public-access-to-courts

A disgraced solicitor who took part in Britain's biggest ever tax fraud is yet to settle a £3million confiscation order, a court heard.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/disgraced-solicitor-rodney-whiston-dew-yet-to-pay-back-any-of-%C2%A33m-after-britains-biggest-tax-fraud/ar-AA13EJ8C

In Short

The Situation: Following years of lobbying by senior prosecutors and other commentators, the UK government seems set to introduce an offence of a corporate failing to prevent economic crime.

The Result: With the exception of bribery and tax offences, a corporate can currently be held criminally liable only for economic crimes committed with the guilty knowledge of those who are the directing mind and will of the company (the "identification principle"). The latest government proposals suggest such liability may be expanded such that corporations may be liable for other economic offences committed for the benefit of the company, including fraud.

Looking Ahead: Such a development would increase the risk of successful prosecution of corporates in circumstances where employees and others have committed offences with the intention of benefiting the company or its clients. Corporates will need to ensure they have sufficient internal systems in place to mitigate the risk and potential liability arising in such circumstances.

The National Crime Agency estimates that money laundering costs the UK more than £100 billion annually. The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill is the second part of a legislative package introduced by the UK government to tackle economic crime. Its stated key objectives are to (i) prevent organised criminals from using UK companies to abuse the UK’s open economy, (ii) strengthen the UK’s broader response to economic crime, in particular by giving law enforcement new powers to seize cryptoassets and enable businesses in the financial sector to share information to prevent and detect economic crime, and (iii) improve the reliability of the data on Companies House so that this data can inform business transactions and lending decisions. The government intends to invest a further £63 million up to 2024–2025 in Companies House to support its transformation from a register to a regulator.

https://www.sidley.com/en/insights/newsupdates/2022/10/understanding-the-uk-economic-crime-and-corporate-transparency-bill