Law and the Justice System

Wide ranging reforms designed to bear down on kleptocrats, organised criminals and terrorists abusing the UK’s open economy have been introduced into Parliament.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-crackdown-on-fraud-and-money-laundering-to-protect-uk-economy

Corporate crime reform is never far from the headlines, and interest in this contentious issue has once again reignited.

https://www.ftadviser.com/regulation/2022/09/21/fraud-reform-is-needed-urgently/

It is a criminal offence in the UK if a business fails to prevent its employees or any person associated with it from facilitating tax evasion.

https://www.pinsentmasons.com/out-law/guides/corporate-criminal-offences-of-failing-to-prevent-the-facilitation-of-tax-evasion-

The heads of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the Crown Prosecution Service have called for the expansion of existing ‘failure to prevent’ corporate crime offences in the UK statute book to cover wider economic crime, and fraud specifically.

https://www.pinsentmasons.com/out-law/news/calls-extend-failure-to-prevent-offences-fraud

BCL senior associate, Tom McNeill assesses the economic crime challenges and priorities for the new Prime Minister in his recent article for LexisNexis.

https://www.bcl.com/tom-mcneill-discusses-the-economic-crime-challenges-in-his-article-for-lexisnexis/

The High Court has struck out a “vexatious” and “abusive” fraud claim by a litigant in person, seeking £160,000 in damages from a solicitor over a 17-year-old property dispute.

The Law Society has called on the government to make “sustained investment” in the UK’s court system after new data showed the case backlog has gotten worse over the previous quarter.

https://www.cityam.com/law-society-calls-for-sustained-investment-in-courts-to-cut-worsening-case-backlog/

The online safety bill, which had reached its final stages through Parliament, has been put on hold until after the summer recess, with some commentators suggesting it could be scrapped or changed significantly.

https://www.ftadviser.com/regulation/2022/07/14/online-safety-bill-pushed-back-amid-leadership-race/

A man from Wolverhampton has agreed to pay the National Crime Agency £110,000 following a Civil Recovery and Tax investigation into his property dealings.

https://nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/news/wolverhampton-man-to-pay-national-crime-agency-110-000

On 10th June, the Law Commission launched its Options Paper which presents a number of ways in which the law of corporate criminal liability could be reformed. The detailed paper, accompanied by a 14 page summary document, sets out potential options for reform in this area and rules out other possibilities as not viable.

https://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/insights/blogs/criminal-law-blog/corporate-criminal-liability-the-law-commissions-ten-options-for-reform