BLL Bulletin

In October 2020, in a speech to the Royal United Services Institute, Serious Fraud Office director Lisa Osofsky said that the introduction of a new corporate criminal offence for ‘failing to prevent economic crime’ topped her list of law reforms.

The recent case of Lennon v Englefield and others [2021] EWHC 1473 (QB) highlights an important limitation to the impact of the UK anti-money laundering regime...

The government has commenced the consultation process for further amendments to the Money Laundering Regulations 2017. Changes up for discussion stand to affect the art market, including potentially those selling digital art, cryptoasset businesses and trust and company services providers.

The new summary account forfeiture provisions introduced by the Criminal Finances Act 2017 have yielded a significant dividend for the National Crime Agency (“NCA”) in the Javadov case which was settled a few weeks ago.

The proceeds of environmental crime are laundered far more than most realise. This is the message of a recent report of the Financial Action Task Force ‘Money Laundering from Environmental Crime’, published July 2021.

Perring v Commissioners for HM Revenue and Customs [2021] UKFTT 110 concisely illustrates the parameters of HMRC’s powers to issue taxpayer notices...

The National Crime Agency has recently played the supporting role in US efforts to forfeit 50 prized movie posters held in the UK.

The fight against online VAT fraud has come into sharper focus during the pandemic, as consumers have increasingly shifted their custom online.

The UK government has committed to introducing a global corruptions sanctions framework later this year. It is likely that persons wherever located can be designated on the basis that there is a ‘reasonable suspicion’ they are involved in corruption.

On 3 March 2021, HMRC confirmed that it will be expanding its civil information powers by introducing ‘Financial Institution Notices’ (‘FINs’).