Should UK law enforcement authorities suspect that money is derived from, or will be used for, criminal activities, they have a potentially devastating tool at their disposal : Account Freezing and Forfeiture Orders (“AFFOs”). Whilst AFFOs have received far less media attention than Unexplained Wealth Orders (“UWOs”), they are a serious cause for concern. Only […]
Lisa Osofsky, director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), has outlined proposals to introduce a US-style informant system in the UK, modelled on US plea-bargaining arrangements. These latest proposals – although currently no more than mere overtures – raise a number of practical and theoretical issues which, if not addressed, may serve to compound the […]
Senior partner Michael O’Kane comments on the Foreign Affairs Committee report on the future of the UK sanctions policy in LexisNexis. Read here
UK parliament was due to debate a bill which would require the UK’s crown dependencies to introduce public registers in order to bring about greater transparency in the hope of preventing illicit financial flows. However, the government has subsequently withdrawn the debate on the bill from the House of commons schedule. Partner Neil Swift says […]
Partner Anna Bradshaw discusses the impact of a No-Deal Brexit on Criminal justice and Police cooperation from 43:00 onwards. Listen here
The Commission of the European Union has publicly criticised six member states for weaknesses in their anti-money laundering regimes. Partner Anna Bradshaw says, “ The inclusion of AML-related, country-specific recommendations in an economic and social policy review demonstrates a knowledge among EU officials that the bloc’s preventative AML structures are only as strong as their […]
The English legal system is historically one of the UK’s great exports, with the English common law forming the basis of the legal systems for approximately a quarter of the world. In addition to evolving in various ways in different jurisdictions, English law remains the law of choice in much of international commerce and in […]
It is still early to determine whether Unexplained Wealth Orders will have the expected deterrent effect. Partner Neil Swift explains the background of the orders, saying “ The system was introduced by David Cameron’s coalition government because they were concerned about the level of illicit wealth being stored at the London property market, but it […]
Historically perceived as a last-ditch resort for the cash-strapped, litigation funding has evolved into a commercially astute alternative for many litigants, including HNWIs with valuable claims who are reluctant to commit significant resources to costly legal proceedings. In short, litigation funding is where a litigant obtains the financing to cover the costs of bringing a […]
The successful discharge for our client, Mr Zmikhnovskiy, after a robustly contested hearing is the first decision on extradition to Russian Federation made in the Magistrates’ Court, following the Shmatko High Court judgment. A postscript to Mr Zmikhnovskiy’s judgment lists important assurance requirements for the Russian Federation to meet for any future extradition requests. Senior […]
