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Sweett Group plc: first conviction for Bribery Act corporate offence
In Southwark Crown Court, on 19 February 2016, Sweett Group plc was ordered to pay approximately £2.35m for the offence of failing to prevent bribery by an associated person under section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010. This case, write Omar Qureshi..
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07 April 2016
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April/May 2016 - 07 April 2016
Set fair – EU benchmark rate regulation
A future European Union (EU) regulation is set to sound the death knell on rate rigging through tough benchmark rules, including regulatory supervision, adapted to their size and risk. Sara Lewis reports from Brussels.
The regulation follows..
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07 April 2016
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April/May 2016 - 07 April 2016
And breathe… The SFO on privilege
Statements by senior managers at the Serious Fraud Office and its conduct in two recent cases point to a possible shift in the agency’s attitude toward privilege, write Amanda Raad and Mark Hunting of Ropes & Gray.
Privilege..
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07 April 2016
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April/May 2016 - 07 April 2016
SEC in first DPA against individual in foreign corruption case
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced its first deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) against an individual in a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) case.
FCPA civil charges against Yu Kai Yuan, an employee at..
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07 April 2016
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April/May 2016 - 07 April 2016
UK government sets up new anti-fraud taskforce
The British government is launching a new regulatory, business and law enforcement taskforce to crack down on the more than 5 million frauds perpetrated annually in the UK. This Joint Fraud Taskforce will bring together the City of London Police,..
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07 April 2016
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OECD marks down three EU countries on anti-bribery intent
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) working group on bribery has criticised three European Union (EU) member states for their “limited efforts” to comply with the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention.
It is..
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07 April 2016
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Court backs SFO over handling of electronic files subject to LPP
England’s High Court has backed the UK Serious Fraud Office over the way it handles and identifies electronic material subject to the right to non-disclosure through legal professional privilege (LPP).
In a case brought by an individual..
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07 April 2016
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April/May 2016 - 07 April 2016
Cross-border currents - OLAF chief may lose immunity from prosecution in Belgium
Giovanni Kessler, director-general of OLAF, the European Union’s (EU) anti-fraud agency, has been dragged deeper into the mire of the John Dalli case, with the European Commission stripping him of legal immunity against prosecution in..
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07 April 2016
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April/May 2016 - 07 April 2016
NGOs call for global DPA standards
A group of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) is calling on the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) to draw up global standards for deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) based on best practice.
Corruption Watch..
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07 April 2016
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SFO head defends LIBOR prosecution after six acquitted
The director of the UK Serious Fraud Office, David Green, has defended the decision to prosecute six individuals over London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) rigging fraud, after they were acquitted in Southwark Crown Court at the end of..
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07 April 2016
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April/May 2016 - 07 April 2016
The Internet of Things – ubiquitous risk
A society in which not only everyone but everything is connected – all the time – is just around the corner but the Internet of Things means inevitable expansion of risks alongside the benefits. Mandy Kovacs examines the..
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07 April 2016
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April/May 2016 - 07 April 2016
Handled with care – High Court approves SFO’s treatment of seized electronic devices
The High Court has given judicial approval to the Serious Fraud Office’s newest procedure for identifying and returning privileged documents it finds on electronic devices seized in arrests or raids. Neil Swift and Edward Einfeld of Peters..
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07 April 2016
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April/May 2016 - 07 April 2016
Looking through the numbers – fraud surveys
Estimates and extrapolations of the type and distribution - by age, job role, gender, cost, duration, and other parameters - of fraud abound. Sara Lewis conducts a meta study of the research.
Anti-fraud professionals face an increasing..
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07 April 2016
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April/May 2016 - 07 April 2016
“Blinkers off”: counter-fraud, is it a self-serving profession?
“We’ve had a hundred years of psychotherapy and the world’s getting worse” - James Hillman, American psychologist (1926–2011).
Veronica Morino asks a similar question about fraud and corruption and the..
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07 April 2016
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April/May 2016 - 07 April 2016
Online security – the weakest link
For all the technological defences, people persist as a principal vulnerability in the cyber environment. Mandy Kovacs tests for gaps along the perimeter.
As cyber-attacks on online banking become advance in sophistication, anti-fraud..
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07 April 2016
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April/May 2016 - 07 April 2016
Political will, or won’t – Europe
Member states’ support for a European Public Prosecutor is heavily qualified and OLAF, the European Union’s anti-fraud office, has come under fire from its own supervisory committee and MEPs. Carmen Paun, in Brussels, questions the state..
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07 April 2016
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April/May 2016 - 07 April 2016
Remote capture – identity theft
Knowledge is power, they say, and knowing all about you enables someone to steal from you, even to be you, without your knowledge. Criminals are hacking and selling vast troves of personal data. Michael Kosmides delves into the dark trade in..
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07 April 2016
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April/May 2016 - 07 April 2016
Cryptocurrencies – mainstreaming the blockchain
Bitcoin and, specifically, its underlying blockchain technology, are rapidly traversing an arc from mathematical arcana with criminal appeal to application in a range of transactional scenarios where an unalterable public ledger guarantees trust...
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07 April 2016
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Auditors say EU system to fight VAT fraud is ineffective
The European Union’s (EU) system for fighting cross-border value added tax (VAT) fraud, including the €40-60 billion in annual VAT revenue losses linked to organised crime, is ineffective and hampered by a lack of comparable data and..
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07 April 2016
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April/May 2016 - 07 April 2016
Lawful endeavour – striving for justice in China
The longest journey starts with a single step: President Xi has ambitions to make China a country ruled by law, and has begun to counter interference in the judicial process, which foreign companies in dispute with local partners over intellectual..
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07 April 2016
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April/May 2016 - 07 April 2016
Caught on film – illegal access Down Under
In a global poll of which countries are the worst online piracy offenders, Australia would probably be a long way down the list but the content producers are worried and taking action. Barbara Bierach reports from Sydney.
Know your..
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07 April 2016
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April/May 2016 - 07 April 2016
The ¥50 billion Chinese Madoff - could it happen in the West?
Dramatic scenes in China’s Anhui province in January, when 21 executives in peer-to-peer lender Ezubao (e租宝) were arrested and mechanical diggers excavated over a thousand documents buried by staff. If proven, Ezubao will be the..
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07 April 2016
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April/May 2016 - 07 April 2016
Pure flow – keeping the supply chain clean
Supply chain risk is a vast and complex subject: Kevin Braine of Kroll offers some practical management pointers.
I have spent the last 15 years helping clients from a wide range of industries manage specific aspects of their supply chain..
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07 April 2016
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April/May 2016 - 07 April 2016
Economic crime hits a third of organisations, global survey
More than one in three (36%) of organisations worldwide have experienced economic crime in the last two years, according to research by consultants PwC, slightly lower than for 2012-2014 (37%). The survey covered 6,337 respondents in 115 countries,..
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07 April 2016
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April/May 2016 - 07 April 2016
“What happened to Tom Hayes is scary”
Convicted rogue trader Nick Leeson, who spent over four years in German and Singaporean prisons, doesn’t envy LIBOR-fixer Tom Hayes his 11-year stretch: “a prison sentence is scary.” Two decades on, the lessons of Leeson’s..
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07 April 2016
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April/May 2016 - 07 April 2016
Siren call – the mobile phone as threat
Mobile in hand, online most of the day (and night), twenty-first century humankind has never been better connected or, writes Mandy Kovacs, more vulnerable to unseen attack.
Six billion of the world’s seven billion people have access..
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07 April 2016
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April/May 2016 - 07 April 2016
First moves – how to respond to suspected fraud
Initial reactions to an allegation of fraud may well dictate the final outcome. George McKillop of Haymarket steps carefully into an investigation.
Over the last 30 years or so there has been a visible shift in corporate thinking about..
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07 April 2016
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April/May 2016 - 07 April 2016