10 questions on the new fixed recoverable costs ‘FRC’ regime
From October 2023 the government are planning to make changes to FRCs.
This article offers an overview of what the changes may look in practice.
Author: admin
GDPR v Money Laundering Regulations: How long should you retain client ID documents?
The GDPR says that personal data should be kept for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected. The Money Laundering Regulations say that CDD documents must be kept for at least 5 years. So how long should you retain client ID documents for?
On the face of it, there appears to be a conflict between two key pieces of legislation. Which should you comply with in order to avoid a fine or other regulatory sanction?
Cash-strapped students falling prey to money mule fraud
Fraudulent criminal gangs are targeting growing numbers of students who are struggling to make ends meet amidst the sustained rise in the cost of living.
Fraudscape 9 month figures update
Every year the Credit Industry Fraud Avoidance System (“CIFAS”) publish their figures in their Fradscape report. For 2022 the 9 month report has just been released using figures from the CIFAS National Fraud Database and the Enhanced Internal fraud Database along with intelligence provided by CIFAS members. The report analyses how levels of fraudulent conduct have changed over the first 9months of 2022 compared to 2021.
House of Lords firmly says more needs to be done to combat fraud
On 12 November 2022 the House of Lords Fraud Act 2006 and Digital Fraud Committee published their report “Fighting Fraud: Breaking the Chain” (the “Report”).
Arun Chauhan of Tenet was one of the witnesses giving evidence to the Committee in his role as a trustee of the Fraud Advisory Panel. Arun says that the Report should be the wake up call the Government need to realise how damaging fraud is for consumers and businesses.
A Checklist for preparing Trial Witness Statements
If you (as an individual or organisation) are involved in a case in the Business & Property Courts (not subject to the Shorter Trials Scheme), then Practice Direction 57AC is likely to apply. These rules set out the key principles of what is required when preparing your witness statements (if the witness statement is signed on or after 6 April 2021).
PD57AC also refers to the ‘Statement of Best Practice’ and any relevant ‘Court Guide’ which must also be observed.
The Secret Ingredient – Newsletter
The Secret Ingredient is our dedicated food and drink quarterly newsletter. Each publication supports in-house counsel and those from a science background assessing food safety to keep up to date with current and emerging fraud-related risks. Catch up on previous issues below and subscribe here to receive quarterly updates direct to your inbox.
Fraud and the Justice System – House of Commons Justice Committee, Fourth Report of Session 2022-23
On 18 October 2022, the House of Commons Justice Committee published its Fourth Report of Session 2022-2023. The report considers the continued upward trend of the fraud epidemic and how Government and private sectors might look to create a unified approach to tackling fraud, and to do so in such a way as will give the issue more publicly visible political and Governmental ownership and accountability.
BTI v Sequana: Can directors take comfort from the recent Supreme Court judgment?
On 5 October 2022, the Supreme Court handed down its long-awaited judgment on the scope of directors’ duties in circumstances where a company is in financial difficulty, often referred to as the “twilight zone” i.e. the company is not yet insolvent but the company’s financial position is precarious. The hope was that the Supreme Court would provide certainty for those directors faced with difficult decisions in such circumstances, however, it is arguable whether the judgment has gone far enough to provide precise guidance.
Further legislation to tackle economic crime in the UK
In March 2022, in the wake of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the UK government rushed through the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 (“ECA”). Given its speedy delivery, the ECA was focused on certain specific issues aimed at the laundering of dirty Russian money in the UK (as discussed in our previous article). However, the government is still under pressure to deliver further legislation to tackle wider issues concerning economic crime in the UK. To that end, the government has recently announced a further Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill which it states will deliver “…a suite of wider-ranging reforms to tackle economic crime and improve transparency over corporate entities.”