Individuals continue to face risk from prosecutions for economic crime, despite media focus on corporate criminal liability reforms. By Stuart Alford KC, Mair Williams, and Matthew Unsworth Four individuals have today appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court charged with fraud in connection with the collapse of UK café and bakery chain, Patisserie Valerie.[i] This follows a … Continue Reading
The proposal outlines 10 possible ways to strengthen corporate liability by both criminal and civil law reforms. By Stuart Alford QC, Clare Nida, and Mair Williams On 10 June 2022 the Law Commission published an eagerly anticipated set of proposals (the Options Paper) to overhaul criminal law as it applies to companies in the UK … Continue Reading
Two cases illustrate the narrow scope of application for exceptions to the without prejudice rule of legal privilege. By Stuart Alford and Clare Nida Background In two recent judgments, the High Court found exception to the ‘without prejudice’ rule of legal privilege. The rule protects statements made by parties to a dispute (whether written or … Continue Reading
Parties within a chain of transactions may face liability for dishonesty and assistance, even if they do not have actual knowledge of fraud. By Stuart Alford QC and Yasmina Vaziri The recent judgment in Bilta (UK) Limited (in liquidation) & ors v. NatWest Markets plc & Anor [2020] EWHC 546 (Ch) provides a timely illustration … Continue Reading
In a leading case, the Court examined the extent of the duty of care that a bank owes to its customers when executing their orders. By Andrea Monks and Nell Perks On 30 October 2019, the UK Supreme Court dismissed Daiwa’s appeal in the case of Singularis Holdings Ltd (In Official Liquidation) v Daiwa Capital … Continue Reading
Buyers’ best defence against M&A fraud requires rigorous, pre-closing due diligence — when fraud is suspected, deal teams should seek legal advice and proceed with caution. Oliver Browne, Richard Butterwick, Alanna Andrew, Frederick Brodie, Connor Cahalane, and Catherine Campbell Recent high-profile fraud cases gravely illustrate how a failure to detect fraudulent activity can cause lasting damage … Continue Reading
The new code aims to avoid customers being penalised for fraudsters’ actions. By Andrea Monks and Nell Perks Estimates indicate that fraudsters stole £1.2 billion from UK bank accounts in 2018 — a 16% increase on the previous year. UK Finance has described fraud as a “major threat to the UK”, and has confirmed that … Continue Reading
English Supreme Court rules that there is no reasonable diligence requirement barring a fresh action to set aside a judgment obtained by fraud. Oliver E. Browne and Alex Cox Introduction In Takhar v Gracefield Developments Limited and others [2019] UKSC 13, the English Supreme Court considered whether a party applying to set aside an earlier … Continue Reading
FCJ decision finds that mere suspicion of contamination resulting from a sold property’s past use constitutes a defect. By Patrick Braasch and Christian Thiele The German Federal Court of Justice (FCJ) has ruled that an abstract suspicion of contamination resulting from a sold property’s past use already constitutes a material defect — irrespective of the … Continue Reading
