Law and the Justice System

UPDATED prosecution data has been released by the Crown Prosecution Service today (30 January).

A High Court family judge has ordered that public funds be made available to pay for lay advocates to support intellectually impaired parents in a court hearing about their child, after expert witnesses said they were necessary to lift the load from solicitors.

https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/hmcts-told-to-fund-lay-advocates-to-lift-solicitors-burden

There has been a more than tenfold increase in the number of people identified as victims of modern slavery and human trafficking in London, and more than 30% of all cases nationally are discovered in the capital, according to new research.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jan/30/number-of-slavery-victims-in-london-up-tenfold-in-five-years?CMP=share_btn_tw

A Liverpool money launderer has been ordered to hand over more than £131k or face a further 15 months in prison.

The National Crime Agency has recovered houses and cash worth more than 450,000 after an financial investigation into property held by a 41 year old Bradford man.

Investigations into alleged misconduct by prison staff have risen by a third in a year, figures have revealed.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-51049216

Legal action to help recover half a million pounds stolen by a corrupt Smethwick headteacher and her school secretary is to begin later this month.

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/local-hubs/sandwell/smethwick/2020/01/07/sandwell-council-to-claw-back-500000-stolen-by-smethwick-headteacher/

The SFO alleged that three senior employees of Guralp Systems Limited (“the Company”), a UK based seismology company, conspired to corruptly make payments of approximately £1 million over a period of twelve years between 2003 and 2015 to a public official and employee of the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, in return for £2 million worth of contracts.

https://www.gibsondunn.com/guralp-systems-limited-uk-serious-fraud-office-sixth-deferred-prosecution-agreement-results-in-no-penalty-for-company/?utm_source=Mondaq&utm_medium=syndication&utm_campaign=View-Original

A number of court appearances led to a contested forfeiture hearing at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on 4 December 2019.

https://westbridgfordwire.com/notts-police-unit-confiscates-more-than-170000-from-criminal-organisations/

Cansun Güralp, Andrew Bell and Natalie Pearce were acquitted of conspiracy to make corrupt payments in relation to payments made to a South Korean public official between 2002 and 2015.

https://www.sfo.gov.uk/2019/12/20/three-individuals-acquitted-as-sfo-confirms-dpa-with-guralp-systems-ltd/