Shein UK breaches company law by failing to disclose human owner – The Guardian

Posted March 7th, 2024 in company law, disclosure, financial regulation, news by sally

‘The UK business of the fast-fashion company Shein has failed to disclose its ultimate ownership, a breach of company law that could disrupt the firm’s reported plans to consider listing in the UK.’

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The Guardian, 6th March 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Companies required to make ‘lawful purpose’ declarations – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 5th, 2024 in company law, news, service, trade names by tracey

‘New powers for Companies House to query information and to require companies to give legitimate addresses come in to force under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 today. The new regime, aimed at curbing misues of the companies register, will also for the first time require people setting up companies to state that the business’ activities will be lawful.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 4th March 2024

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

New law to make justice more accessible for innocent people wronged by powerful companies – Ministry of Justice

‘The Lord Chancellor, Alex Chalk, will introduce a new law to make it easier for members of the public to secure the financial backing of third parties when launching complex claims against moneyed corporations with sizeable legal teams which they could otherwise ill-afford.’

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Ministry of Justice, 4th March 2024

Source: www.gov.uk

Company fined £450,000 and director and site manager sentenced following death of labourer – Crown Prosecution Service

‘A company has been fined £450,000 and the firm’s director has received a suspended prison sentence after a labourer was crushed to death at a construction site.’

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Crown Prosecution Service, 15th February 2024

Source: www.cps.gov.uk

Post Office scandal could lead to rules change on private prosecutions – The Guardian

‘Rules to prevent companies taking private prosecutions in the way the Post Office went after innocent post office operators are being considered by the government.’

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The Guardian, January 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Were lawyers complicit in Post Office’s corporate governance failures? – Legal Futures

‘A solicitor who acted for three wrongly convicted sub-postmasters has questioned whether lawyers advising the Post Office’s board were more motivated by continuing the retainers than giving proper guidance.’

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Legal Futures, 8th January 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Managing corporate crime risk under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 – OUT-LAW.com

Posted December 11th, 2023 in company directors, company law, fraud, news by tracey

‘The UK’s Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (the Act) has reformed the law of corporate criminal attribution for a wide range of economic crimes and introduced a new offence of corporate failure to prevent economic crimes.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 8th December 2023

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Failure to Prevent Fraud – Being a Friend of Business – Guildhall Chambers

Posted November 15th, 2023 in chambers articles, company law, fraud, money laundering, news, Russia, Ukraine by sally

‘The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023. An initial Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 was passed at speed in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine to deter Russian oligarchs from laundering money in the London property market. This 2023 Act follows on as part of a welcome Parliamentary focus on how economic crime can impact the international reputation and stability of the UK as well as its cost to the Exchequer.’

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Guildhall Chambers, 31st October 2023

Source: www.guildhallchambers.co.uk

Kate Ollerenshaw: Impact Assessment as an Accountability Mechanism: Past, Present and Future – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted November 9th, 2023 in brexit, company law, constitutional law, EC law, government departments, news by sally

‘On 19th September, the Government published a revised version of the Better Regulation Framework Manual setting out its new approach to impact assessment for regulatory measures. The system it will replace was aligned with the Government’s formal mechanisms to incentivise a reduction in the burden of regulation on business and civil society, but the repeal of the statutory Business Impact Target (BIT) by s. 18 of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 and the Government’s commitment to ‘Smarter Regulation to Grow the Economy’ in the post-Brexit world prompted revisions. At first sight the proposals, including the creation of a new ‘options assessment’, seem to address some criticisms of the previous system. As always though, ‘the devil is in the detail’ and ‘the proof of the pudding will be in its eating’. This post looks at the proposed changes in the light of past practice to highlight areas where the effectiveness of impact assessment as an accountability mechanism might remain compromised. For reasons of space, this post focuses on impact assessment as a prospective tool rather than its role in post-implementation review.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 9th November 2023

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

New Act – legislation.gov.uk

Posted October 30th, 2023 in company directors, company law, corruption, fraud, legislation, money laundering by tracey

2023 c. 56 – Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023

Robust new laws to fight corruption, money laundering and fraud – Home Office

‘The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act received Royal Assent on Thursday 26 October.’

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Home Office, 26th October 2023

Source: www.gov.uk

Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act completes its passage through parliament – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted October 27th, 2023 in company law, fraud, news by sally

‘Expert legal commentators appear to be divided over the impact of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, which received royal assent today. The House of Lords nodded through the measure, after months of parliamentary back-and-forth, hours after the government rejected amendments which their backers said would close gaping loopholes.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 26th October 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

ESG for Employers – Kingsley Napley

“Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) matters are growing in importance for all organisations. Aside from the moral reasons putting these issues high on the agenda, an organisation’s ESG standing/rating can have a huge impact on its performance, as well as its ability to attract and retain talent, investors, customers and clients. ESG matters can also have potential legal and regulatory consequences.”

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Kingsley Napley, 5th October 2023

Source: www.kingsleynapley.co.uk

Emphasis on sanctions compliance legal advice record-keeping under new licence – OUT-LAW.com

‘The UK government has granted a general licence to enable UK lawyers to provide legal advice to non-UK individuals and businesses in relation to their compliance with international sanctions on Russia, without breaching UK sanctions regulations themselves.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 22nd August 2023

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

The UK Bribery Act 2010: principles, offences and penalties – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 21st, 2023 in bribery, company law, news by tracey

‘The Bribery Act 2010 (the Act) came into force in April 2011, overhauling UK anti-bribery legislation.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 18th August 2023

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

A practical guide to unfair prejudice petitions – St John’s Chambers

‘This guide provides an overview of the principles relating to unfair prejudice petitions. It is not legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Businesses and individuals should seek bespoke legal advice in respect of their particular positions. This guide is an updated version of a similar guide published in 2019.’

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St John's Chambers, 3rd July 2023

Source: www.stjohnschambers.co.uk

Court rules that genuine attempt to restructure did not put assets beyond reach of creditors – OUT-LAW.com

Posted June 21st, 2023 in company law, fraud, insolvency, news, winding up by tracey

‘A recent ruling of the English High Court found that a genuine attempt to restructure a company did not amount to an ‘informal winding-up’ in contradiction of insolvency laws on the distribution of assets to creditors.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 20th June 2023

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Law Commission invited to review legislation on co-operatives and friendly societies – Law Commission

Posted June 21st, 2023 in company law, Law Commission, news by tracey

‘The Law Commission has today been invited by the Treasury to undertake two projects to review the legal frameworks governing co-operatives and community benefit societies, and friendly societies.’

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Law Commission, 16th June 2023

Source: www.lawcom.gov.uk

UK watchdog plans to shake up stock listing rules – BBC News

‘The UK’s financial watchdog has announced plans to shake up its rules in a bid to attract more companies to list shares on UK stock markets.’

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BBC News, 3rd May 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

New regulations published regarding UK’s Register of Overseas Entities – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 21st, 2023 in company directors, company law, disclosure, local government, news by tracey

‘New regulations have been published that extend the ability of Companies House to disclose information contained on the UK’s Register of Overseas Entities (ROE) to certain government or independent enforcement agencies, writes Sophie Alexander.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 21st April 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk