SFO Revised Polices – New Director Takes Tougher Approach
K&L Gates has helpfully summarised what SFO guidelines David Green CB QC, the director of the SFO, has revised concerning facilitation payments, business expenditure (hospitality) and corporate self-reporting. The new policies were published on 9 October 2012. The new policies can be summarised as follows: Facilitation Payments Policy – They are illegal; decisions to prosecute will be based on [...]
Three Members of Chambers Provide Their Expertise on Commercial and Financial Wrongdoing
On Monday 25th June 2012 Barry Stancombe, Abigail Coghill-Smith and Fiona Jackson addressed an audience of lawyers, financial investigators and accountants in Cardiff, in conjunction with POCLA and PKF Accountants and Business Advisors, in a seminar entitled “Proceeds of Crime: Ten Years On”. In workshops covering the topics of Bribery and Corruption, the Government’s proposals [...]
Faisal Osman Speaks at Butterworths Conference on Economic Crime
Faisal Osman addressed the Butterworth’s conference on Economic Crime in London on 21 June 2012. He spoke about Deferred Prosecution Agreements, what the are, what is to be expected and an analysis of their advantages and disadvantages. Butterworths introduced the Conference in this way: Despite the hype surrounding the implementation of the Bribery Act 2010 last year, the FSA have reported that many [...]
Anti-bribery and Corruption Systems and Controls in Investment Banks
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has published the findings of its thematic review into anti-bribery and corruption (ABC) systems and controls in investment banks. In response to those findings, the FSA will consult on proposed amendments to the FSA’s regulatory guidance, ‘Financial crime: a guide for firms’. This proposed new guidance applies to all firms [...]
Andrew Mitchell QC Contributes to Transparency International’s Publication on Civil Recovery
Transparency International have produced a comprehensive review and analysis of the outcomes of the foreign bribery cases that have been brought to date in the UK. It discusses the role of negotiated settlements in achieving justice, and what additional tools may be necessary to make the Bribery Act work effectively. The paper makes 23 recommendations [...]
Voluntary Disclosure and the UK Proceeds of Crime Act: the Final Act in the Mabey & Johnson Case
On 13 January 2012, the UK Serious Fraud Office announced an enforcement action that highlights the far reaching use prosecutors can make of proceeds of crime legislation to combat serious economic crime. The Mabey action is the first time the SFO has used the civil recovery order (“CRO”) mechanism contained in the UK Proceeds of [...]
Winter News 2011 – Chambers Magazine Available to Download
The new issue of Chambers’ Magazine can be downloaded here: It includes articles by Andrew Mitchell QC and Penny Small and a guest article by Don Mavin of Mavin Co. Also inside is news of awards that Chambers’ have won, litigation we have been involved in and Simon Taylor’s Profile.
Andrew Mitchell QC Scores Major Victory Against Trinidad and Tobago Attorney General
Businessmen Ishwar Galbaransingh and Steve Ferguson yesterday scored a major victory in their battle against extradition to the United States after the order was quashed by a High Court judge. The men were represented by a legal team, which included Andrew Mitchell QC, Senior Counsel Fyard Hosein and attorneys Rajiv Persad, Rishi Dass and Nyree Alfonso. [...]
FSA v Willis, the UK Bribery Act, Recording Facilitation Payments and the FCPA
What does the UK’s Bribery Act have to say about the ‘practices’ alluded to in the title of the ‘Foreign Corrupt Practices Act’? An Article by David MacLeod The United States’ Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 1977 (15 U.S.C. [section] 78dd-1 et seq.) may fairly be regarded as the fore-runner of the OECD’s ‘Convention on Combating [...]
Andrew Mitchell QC in the Caribbean News: TCI Prosecution May be Imminent
Andrew Mitchell QC has been instructed by the Turks and Caicos Islands Special Investigation and Prosecution Team as Lead Prosecution Counsel in this landmark Corruption case. ‘Caribbean news now’ wrote: “PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands – The visit this week to the Turks and Caicos Islands of a leading specialist in civil and criminal asset [...]
Andrew Mitchell QC to Chair, Martin Evans to Speak at Lexis Nexis Bribery Conference
On 25 October 2011 Andrew Mitchell QC will chair the Lexis-Nexis conference on Anti-Corruption and Bribery. The event will be: “a thorough examination of the latest law surrounding anti-corruption and bribery and an in-depth look at the effect of the new Bribery Act now that it is in force.” Martin Evans will speak on civil claims and asset [...]
“Follow the money …” – The role of Article 8 (Accounting) of the OECD Convention and the law of Bribery and Corruption
“Follow the money …” David MacLeod and Mark Rainsford QC consider the role of Article 8 (Accounting) of the OECD Convention and its implementation in the legislative schema governing the law of Bribery and Corruption. There has been much ink spilt on the enactment of the new Bribery Act 2010, which came into force on July [...]
Faisal Osman Speaks at Butterworths Anti-Bribery and Corruption Conference
Faisal Osman presented a lecture on ‘Asset Recovery Across Borders and International Co-operation’ at the 2011 Butterworths Anti-Bribery and Corruption Conference in London today. As well as dealing with the legal basis for international co-operation, Faisal also invited delegates to consider civil actions and whether clients ought to seek redress for losses sustained by ‘external’ and ‘internal’ [...]
Guidance on the Bribery Act 2010 Released by Ministry of Justice
The Government’s long-awaited guidance on the Bribery Act 2010 has now been released. A ‘Quick Start’ Guide has also been produced. Introducing the Act, Justice Secretary Ken Clarke has confirmed that the legislation will not lead to a large number of prosecutions and will not outlaw corporate hospitality: “Cases will be brought where they are in [...]
Mark Rainsford QC in the Evening Standard: Bribery Act lawsuits ‘could ruin bosses’
Mark Rainsford QC has been interviewed in the Evening Standard: Company directors could face financially crippling legal action if their firms fall foul of the new Bribery Act, a leading London lawyer warned today. Mark Rainsford QC, who specialises in cases involving corporate wrong-doing, said investors were likely to sue directors for their personal wealth [...]
Mark Rainsford QC to Speak at International Chamber of Commerce Event on Bribery
ICC United Kingdom is holding its second annual conference on anti-corruption entitled Best Practices in Fighting Bribery and Corruption – The Bribery Act 2010 on 15 February 2011. Mark Rainsford QC has been invited to speak. The ICC has for many years been active in fighting corruption and bribery. ICC was the first international business [...]
Andrew Mitchell QC Speaks at Asset Recovery, Fraud and Tracing Conference, Dubai
Andrew Mitchell QC spoke at the C5 asset recovery and fraud conference in Dubai on 25 January 2011 on the cross over between civil and criminal relief, bribery and corruption and confiscation. Click here: for a copy of the submitted paper. Andrew spoke with Orlando Vidal from SNR Denton during a panel chaired by Keith [...]
Join us in Dubai on 24 January 2011 for a Special Chambers’ Reception
Seven Members of Chambers will be in Dubai from 23 to 25 January 2011. Andrew Mitchell QC will be speaking at the C5 conference ‘Fraud, Asset Tracing and Recovery in the Middle East’ on the topic of ‘Bribery and Corruption’. We are holding a reception for UK, US and Arab law firms in the early [...]
Bribery and Corruption: 33 Chancery Lane’s Unique Advantages
Since the Bribery Bill became the Bribery Act almost everyone in the legal services industry has claimed an expertise. Professional consultancies have sprung up alongside established Solicitors’ Firms and Barristers’ Chambers offering compliance audits for multi-national companies worried about the impact of the new Act. Criminal Prosecution We can lay claim to having actual bribery [...]
Andrew Mitchell QC Succeeds in the Trinidad and Tobago Court of Appeal
The longrunning Trinidad and Tobago Piarco Airport extension corruption case continues. Andrew Mitchell QC advises and appears for the accused. The Appeal Court in Trinidad ruled in favour of businessmen and United National Congress financiers Ishwar Galbaransingh and Steve Ferguson in their extradition appeal against the State this week. In delivering its eight-page ruling, the Appeal [...]
Mark Rainsford QC to Speak on the Bribery Act 2010 at a Parliamentary ‘Spotlight on India’ Event
“India represents an enormous opportunity for British companies. Already our trade relationship is worth £11.5 billion a year. But I want us to go further. India plans to invest $500billion in infrastructure in the coming years. That is of course good for Indian business, but it is also a chance for British companies to generate [...]
The Relationship Between Criminal Prosecution and Civil Recovery
Kennedy Talbot writes in the Civil Litigation Publication “Solutions” on the relationship between Criminal Prosecution and Civil Recovery. It makes for essential reading for anyone who deals with financial wrongdoing and gives an insight into Prosecutors’ new strategic thinking. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CRIMINAL PROSECUTION AND CIVIL RECOVERY Criminal prosecutions, particularly paper intensive fraud, corruption and money [...]
Mark Rainsford QC to Speak at DLA Piper Event in Leeds and Sheffield
Mark Rainsford QC will speak alongside Paul Burnley, a partner at DLA Piper, on the implications of the Bribery Act 2010 in Leeds on 19 October 2010 and Sheffield on 21 October 2010. In introducing the event, DLA Piper say: “In some eyes the Bribery Act 2010 ushers in much needed reform in the UK. Not only is it [...]
Mark Rainsford QC to Speak at Business Forum: “The impact of the Bribery Act on UK Companies”
Scheduled to come into force in April 2011, the government is conducting a consultation period to help formulate the guidance on the new Bribery Act 2010, which will be published in the New Year. Newco Magazine’s “Insider” is hosting an event on 08 October 2010 at DLA Piper UK LLP Manchester, which will discuss the [...]
