Solicitor jailed for role in £4.3m land-banking scam – Legal Futures

‘A solicitor has been jailed for five and a half years for his role in a £4.3m land-banking scam.’

Full story

Legal Futures, 3rd June 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Banks face bigger PPI mis-selling bill as regulator considers compensation rules – The Guardian

‘Banks could face a bigger bill for mis-selling payment protection insurance after the City regulator said it was considering new rules on how customers should be compensated.’

Full story

The Guardian, 27th May 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

In re Lehman Bros International (Europe) (in administration) (No 4) – WLR Daily

Posted May 21st, 2015 in appeals, banking, insolvency, law reports by sally

In re Lehman Bros International (Europe) (in administration) (No 4) [2015] EWCA Civ 485; [2015] WLR (D) 218

‘The Court of Appeal made rulings following determination of issues raised in the administration of three companies as to the potential liability of two members in the group for the liabilities of the principal trading company, an unlimited company, and in particular its subordinated liabilities, and the relationship between their liability, if any, as members and their claims as creditors.’

WLR Daily, 14th May 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Bank Mellat’s $4bn A1P1 claim gathers pace – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted May 11th, 2015 in banking, damages, human rights, news, proportionality, terrorism by sally

‘Two recent judgments underscoring the potential high cost of the UK getting it wrong in its dealing with businesses and hence being liable to pay damages under the Human Rights Act for breach of its A1P1 obligations. Regular readers will know that A1P1 is the ECHR right to peaceful enjoyment of property.’
Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 9th May 2015

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Late applications to amend come a cropper in High Court – Litigation Futures

Posted April 30th, 2015 in amendments, banking, case management, delay, evidence, litigants in person, news by sally

‘The High Court has condemned as “utterly inappropriate” a bid by one of the big banks to amend its defence and serve a new witness statement on a litigant in person on the eve of trial.’
Full story

Litigation Futures, 29th April 2015

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

New Payment Systems Regulator issues Policy Statement – Zenith Chambers

Posted April 2nd, 2015 in banking, competition, financial regulation, news by sally

‘On 25 March 2015, and a week before its operational launch on 1 April 2015 the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) issued a policy statement (PSR PS15/1). This sets out the new regulatory framework for payment systems in the UK. The PSR is an authority without peers domestically and internationally.Businesses who have not previously been subject to regulatory scrutiny including interbank operators, payment service providers and infrastructure providers will now be subject to industry-wide economic regulation.’

Full story (PDF)

Zenith Chambers, 27th March 2015

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

Deutsche Bank AG London Branch v Petromena ASA (in bankruptcy) – WLR Daily

Deutsche Bank AG London Branch v Petromena ASA (in bankruptcy) [2015] EWCA Civ 226; [2015] WLR (D) 133

‘Where a party, which entered an acknowledgment of service to proceedings and made an unsuccessful challenge against the jurisdiction of the English court to hear the proceedings, had entered a further acknowledgment of service in its application for permission to appeal against the court’s decision to refuse its challenge, that party would have submitted to the jurisdiction of the English court, within article 24 of the Lugano Convention on Jurisdiction and the Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (2007), because of the provisions of CPR r 11(8), unless it had first applied to the court for an extension of time to file the further acknowledgment of service sufficient to enable the application for permission to appeal, or the appeal if permission was granted, to be determined.’

WLR Daily, 18th March 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Companies aiding tax evaders will be criminally liable – The Guardian

Posted March 20th, 2015 in accountants, banking, news, strict liability, tax evasion by tracey

‘Banks and accountants that aid tax evasion will face criminal penalties under plans unveiled by the government. A new offence of corporate failure to prevent evasion is being created to address those who assist dodging. Such offenders could also be “named and shamed” alongside the evaders themselves.’

Full story

The Guardian, 19th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Bitcoin: Government to regulate cryptocurrency to avoid money laundering, says Treasury – The Independent

Posted March 19th, 2015 in banking, consultations, cryptocurrencies, money laundering, news, reports by sally

‘The Government is to regulate bitcoin exchanges to stop their use as money laundering hubs, the Treasury said today.’

Full story

The Independent, 18th March 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Tougher standards for UK senior bankers will come into force from March 2016 – OUT-LAW.com

‘A new regulatory regime, designed to make it easier for senior managers of UK banks and building societies to be held accountable for failings in their area of responsibility will come into force in one year’s time, the government has confirmed.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 6th March 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

JSC Mezhdunarodniy Promyshlenniy Bank and another v Pugachev – WLR Daily

JSC Mezhdunarodniy Promyshlenniy Bank and another v Pugachev [2015] EWCA Civ 139; [2015] WLR (D) 94

‘Under the terms of a freezing order the court had jurisdiction to order a member of a class of beneficiaries under a discretionary trust to make disclosure of the details of the trust and the trust assets.’

WLR Daily, 27th February 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Bank of England to boost watchdog role after failing to spot forex rigging – The Guardian

Posted February 27th, 2015 in banking, financial regulation, news by tracey

‘The Bank of England plans to beef up its watchdog role after it failed to spot one of the biggest scandals in the City’s recent history. The central bank said a “root-and-branch” review of its market intelligence operations had found that some staff were unfamiliar with the way City firms operated.’

Full story

The Guardian, 26th February 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

JSC Bank of Moscow v Kekhman and others – WLR Daily

Posted February 26th, 2015 in banking, bankruptcy, domicile, insolvency, law reports by sally

JSC Bank of Moscow v Kekhman and others [2015] EWHC 396 (Ch); [2015] WLR (D) 82

‘When considering whether to exercise its discretion to make a bankruptcy order on a debtor’s petition, the court was to have regard to whether the petitioner could show (1) that he had a sufficiently close connection with England and Wales; (2) that there was a reasonable possibility of benefit resulting from the making of a bankruptcy order; and (3) that one or more persons interested in the distribution of assets were persons over whom the English court could exercise jurisdiction.’

WLR Daily, 20th February 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

FCA to conduct first review of competition in UK investment and corporate banking – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 24th, 2015 in banking, competition, conflict of interest, financial regulation, news by sally

‘The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is to formally review competition between banks that provide investment and corporate banking services after finding “unanswered questions about potential conflicts of interest and value for money”, it has announced.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 23rd February 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

PPI problems still the cause of most complaints to financial ombudsman – The Guardian

Posted February 24th, 2015 in banking, complaints, financial regulation, insurance, news, reports by sally

‘Complaints about payment protection insurance (PPI) are still making up two-thirds of all the cases being dealt with by the financial ombudsman, which named Lloyds and Barclays as Britain’s two “most complained-about” financial firms.’

Full story

The Guardian, 24th February 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

HSBC should face UK criminal charges, says former public prosecutor – The Guardian

‘HSBC’s Swiss arm is potentially open to a range of criminal charges in Britain because there is “credible evidence” that it has had a role in enabling tax evasion, according to a former director of public prosecutions.’

Full story

The Guardian, 22nd February 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Tax authorities should prosecute evaders, says Keir Starmer – The Guardian

Posted February 16th, 2015 in banking, fraud, news, select committees, sentencing, tax evasion, taxation, whistleblowers by sally

‘Criminal prosecution for tax evasion should become the default position of the tax authorities, Keir Starmer, the former director of public prosecutions, has said, as HM Revenue and Customs came under further scrutiny over whether it responded to an email from a French whistleblower setting out details of the scale of tax evasion by HSBC.’

Full story

The Guardian, 13th February 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

City fraudster who scammed £5.5m out of 100 investors is jailed for seven years – The Guardian

Posted February 2nd, 2015 in banking, financial services ombudsman, fraud, news, sentencing by sally

‘A fraudster who scammed more than 100 investors out of £5.5m and spent nearly half to fund his lavish lifestyle has been jailed.’

Full story

The Guardian, 30th January 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Court rules that West Brom tracker rate rise on buy-to-let mortgages was legal – Daily Telegraph

Posted January 30th, 2015 in banking, interest, mortgages, news by sally

‘A judge has rejected claims that the lender illegally increased its tracker rates for buy-to-let customers.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 29th January 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

P2P lending platforms’ marketing scrutinised by FCA – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 29th, 2015 in advertising, banking, financial regulation, news by sally

Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms risk being told what terminology they can and cannot use in their marketing material if concerns identified by the UK’s City watchdog go unaddressed, an expert has said.

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 28th January 2015

Source: www.out-law.com