Digital art and non-fungible tokens (NFTs): the way of the future or just another scam? Keith Oliver and Caroline Timoney discuss in The Fintech Times

Brian McDonald July 12, 2021 0 Comments

The potential for returns that outstrip traditional investments has long drawn armchair investors to cryptocurrencies, some of whom will no doubt have been reassured by market developments such as the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce’s Statement that cryptocurrencies are indeed property (a position now supported by case law). However, many investors continue to show a significant lack […]

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Nick Vamos is quoted in The Guardian about the US proposals over possible extradition of Julian Assange

Brian McDonald July 8, 2021 0 Comments

Assurances made by the US that Julian Assange would not be held under the strictest maximum-security conditions if extradited from the UK have been rejected by his fiancée Stella Morris, who has described them as a formula to keep him in prison for the rest of his life. Nick Vamos says that it is “highly […]

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Tort claims against foreign domiciled defendants: Does the claim fit the gateway? Philip Gardner and Meenakshi Gopal discuss following the decision in Manek

Brian McDonald July 8, 2021 0 Comments

In what circumstances can international HNWIs and entrepreneurs who do their business transnationally pursue tort claims before the English Court? When it comes to non-contractual claims the key issue for truly international disputes will be whether the prospective claim can get through one or more of the so-called ‘tort gateways’ contained in the Civil Procedure […]

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RUSI webinar : ‘Financial Action Task Force (FATF) : Past, Present and Future in the unintended consequences debate’. P&P’s Michael O’Kane speaking

Brian McDonald July 6, 2021 0 Comments

We are delighted to announce that Michael O’Kane will be speaking at the RUSI webinar on 22 July 2021. Michael will be joining the panel discussion on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) considering ways to mitigate the unintended consequences of its financial crime standards. The webinar will assess the FATF’s work to date, consider […]

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Anna Bradshaw and Alistair Jones discuss the UK’s new autonomous sanctions regime in The World Financial Review

Brian McDonald July 6, 2021 0 Comments

When the Brexit transition period expired on 31 December 2020, the UK became a fully-fledged ‘autonomous’ sanction regime.  From the start of this new era, it has been clear that the UK’s autonomous sanctions will play an integral part of the UK’s foreign policy post-Brexit.  Anna Bradshaw and Alistair Jones discuss who is at risk […]

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Expanding corporate criminal liability – are DPAs fit for purpose? P&P’s Neil Swift discusses in Lexis Nexis

Brian McDonald June 28, 2021 0 Comments

DPAs provide companies with the opportunity to compromise allegations of serious criminal misconduct in a managed way, without going through the criminal trial process and without all the consequences of criminal conviction. Depending on the magnitude of the alleged misconduct, the financial penalties imposed can be very substantial. Other elements of the DPA are, where […]

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Account Freezing Orders and Account Forfeiture Orders – a warning for compliance officers. Maria Cronin and Karl Masi discuss in Compliance Matters

Brian McDonald June 24, 2021 0 Comments

Globalisation and the increasing use of the global financial system have enabled criminal gangs to move from hoarding piles of cash to using sophisticated electronic banking systems capable of moving money across borders in milliseconds. To deal with this, Parliament introduced the Criminal Finances Act 2017, which amended the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) to […]

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Peters & Peters in “possibly largest ever” magistrates’ costs award in attempted private prosecution

Brian McDonald June 10, 2021 0 Comments

Peters & Peters on 8 June 2021 secured a significant costs award against a would-be private prosecutor in an application in the Westminster Magistrates’ Court. The judge said this award was proportionate even though he had remarked during the hearing that the total amount claimed in costs was possibly the largest ever made in the […]

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U.K’s Covid contract to Cummings’ friends ruled as unlawful – Neil Swift discusses in Bloomberg

Brian McDonald June 10, 2021 0 Comments

The U.K government suffered a setback after Judge Finola O’Farrell ruled that a 564,000 pound ($800,000) coronavirus contract was unlawfully awarded to a research firm whose owners were friends of Boris Johnson’s former chief adviser. This judgment comes as the government is currently in the midst of challenging a number of lawsuits which have been […]

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Could there be corporate manslaughter charges over the handling of the pandemic? P&P’s Nick Vamos discusses on Talk Radio

Brian McDonald May 28, 2021 0 Comments

On the question of whether any organisation could be charged with corporate manslaughter, Nick Vamos says that in reality, corporate manslaughter charges are highly unlikely. “The difficulty is that it is a very high legal threshold, and one of the tests which has to be met is that the corporation you are prosecuting has to […]

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