Category: Corporate Crime

Japan’s whistleblower laws set to change

9 April, 2019

Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency is currently considering amendments to expand the scope and increase the effectiveness of Japan's whistleblower protection laws. The proposal is earmarked for implementation later this year. ... Read more

New podcast on conducting internal investigations in Asia

8 April, 2019

Robert Hunt, a partner in the firm's corporate crime and investigations practice, has recorded a podcast for the Corporate Compliance and Ethics Blog on trends in internal investigations in Asia. Whilst investigations used to be largely corruption-related, Rob is seeing… Read more

AML/CFT compliance in Hong Kong: Recent record fine and reminder of latest guidance

1 April, 2019

Authors: William Hallatt, Hannah Cassidy, Natalie Curtis, Valerie Tao and Jennifer Fong. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has recently reprimanded and fined Guosen Securities (HK) Brokerage Company (Guosen) HK$15.2 million for failures in complying with anti-money laundering… Read more

Parliamentary Reports Back Improvements to the Supervision and Prosecution of Economic Crime

28 March, 2019

In this article we summarise some of the key points arising from two important reports regarding economic crime in the UK which have been published in recent weeks. On 8 March 2019, the House of Commons' Treasury Committee published its… Read more

COURT OF APPEAL UPHOLDS DISCLOSURE ORDER DESPITE RISK OF PROSECUTION IN IRAN

22 March, 2019

The Court of Appeal has upheld a first instance decision requiring the claimant Iranian bank to produce customer documents in unredacted form, subject to measures to protect their confidentiality, despite the fact that compliance would put the claimant in breach… Read more

High Court refuses permission for collateral use of disclosed documents and witness statements to respond to US grand jury subpoena

19 March, 2019

In a decision illustrating the court’s strict approach to the rule prohibiting the use of disclosed documents and witness statements for a collateral purpose, the High Court has refused a party permission to provide disclosed documents and witness statements to… Read more

Corporate Crime Update – Winter 2019

18 March, 2019

Welcome to the Winter 2019 edition of our corporate crime update - our round up of developments in relation to corruption, money laundering, fraud, sanctions and related matters. Our update now covers a number of jurisdictions. For the full update… Read more

Anti-money laundering regulatory round-up

12 March, 2019

Author: Susannah Cogman Late 2018 and early 2019 saw a flurry of regulatory developments and proposals relating to anti-money laundering. We have reported on these in brief in our regular corporate crime updates, but for those who have been –… Read more

OFSI imposes its first monetary penalty — Raphaels Bank sanctions breach

8 March, 2019

Authors: Daniel Hudson, Partner, London and Daniel Hyde, Associate (Australia), London On 25 February 2019, the UK Government's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation ("OFSI") published a notification of its first imposition of a monetary penalty under new powers afforded to… Read more

The importance of supply chain due diligence and the risks of modern slavery – OFAC settles North Korean sanctions case with fine

4 March, 2019

Authors: Kyle Wombolt, Jeremy Birch, Antony Crockett and Emily Purvis. A recent enforcement action by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) against US company e.l.f Cosmetics Inc (ELF) highlights the importance of supply chain due… Read more

Whistleblower reform in Australia – new legislation enacted

26 February, 2019

Whistleblower reform is underway in Australia after the Treasury Laws Amendment (Enhancing Whistleblower Protections) Bill 2017 (Bill) was passed on 19 February 2019. The new law is likely to commence on 1 July 2019, assuming Royal Assent is given by… Read more

HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS’ 2019 GUIDE TO CORPORATE INVESTIGATIONS IN CHINA

13 February, 2019

Authors: Kyle Wombolt and Anita Phillips Kyle Wombolt, global head of corporate crime and investigations, and Anita Phillips, professional support consultant, have updated their guide to corporate investigations in China. This forms part of GIR’s acclaimed text, The Practitioner’s Guide to… Read more

High Court orders disclosure of SFO documents in s.90A FSMA shareholder class action

6 February, 2019

In a recent decision, the High Court has ordered that documents provided to Tesco plc ("Tesco") by the SFO for the purpose of negotiating a deferred prosecution agreement ("DPA") must be disclosed by Tesco in the separate civil action relating… Read more

OFAC Imposes Blocking Sanctions on PdVSA

31 January, 2019

Authors: Susannah Cogman, Partner, London; Daniel Hudson, Partner, London; Jonathan Cross, Counsel, New York; Geng Li, Associate, New York; and Christopher Milazzo, Associate, New York. On January 28, 2019, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control… Read more

Corporate Crime update – December 2018

21 December, 2018

Welcome to the December 2018 edition of our corporate crime update - our round up of developments in relation to corruption, money laundering, fraud, sanctions and related matters. This month, we would like to wish all of our regular readers a… Read more

UAE introduces new anti-corruption laws with extra-territorial effect

12 December, 2018

Federal Decree No. 24 of 2018 has amended certain provisions of Federal Law No. 3 of 1987 (the "Penal Code") to strengthen anti-corruption legislation in the UAE and bring it in line with other jurisdictions by including foreign public officials… Read more

Corporate Crime autumn update 2018

3 December, 2018

Welcome to the autumn 2018 edition of our corporate crime update - our round up of developments in relation to corruption, money laundering, fraud, sanctions and related matters. Our update now covers a number of jurisdictions. For the full update on each jurisdiction, please… Read more

Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal clarifies “innocent purpose” defence to insider dealing

12 November, 2018

The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (CFA) has recently allowed the Securities and Futures Commission’s (SFC) appeal against the Market Misconduct Tribunal’s (MMT) findings that two former executives of a listed company (ATML), Mr Charles Yiu Hoi Ying and… Read more

Second Wave of United States Sanctions Against Iran Re-Imposed

5 November, 2018

Following President Trump’s decision on May 8, 2018 to withdraw the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”), the US government announced that it would re-impose pre-JCPOA nuclear-related Iran sanctions (both primary and secondary) that were lifted… Read more

High Court considers extraterritorial application of compulsory powers

30 October, 2018

In the case of R (On The Application Of KBR Inc) v The Director of the Serious Fraud Office [2018] EWHC 2368 (Admin) ("KBR"), the High Court dismissed a judicial review brought by the applicant, finding that the SFO was able to compel… Read more

SANCTIONS CLAUSES IN A CHANGING SANCTIONS REGIME

19 October, 2018

How far can a sanctions clause protect a party from having to perform their contractual obligations - and in the case of Iran-related sanctions concerns, how does this interact with the Blocking Regulation? In Mamancochet Mining Limited v Aegis Managing Agency… Read more

FinCEN Issues Advisory Regarding Detection of Illicit Transactions Related to Iran

16 October, 2018

On October 11, 2018, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ("FinCEN") issued official guidance entitled "Advisory on the Iranian Regime's Illicit and Malign Activities and Attempts to Exploit the Financial System" (the "Advisory"). The Advisory intends to help US financial institutions… Read more

Navigating data privacy laws in multi-jurisdictional investigations

11 October, 2018

Our investigations team has published an article for Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence looking at the impact of data privacy laws on investigations in Asia. This also summarises the potential impact of Europe’s GDPR and what else is on the horizon… Read more

Thailand’s new anti-corruption law targets foreign corporates

17 September, 2018

Thailand is the latest Asian jurisdiction to strengthen its anti-graft legislation. India, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and China have all introduced anti-bribery legislation this year. The net effect is an uptick in the local enforcement risk for corporates operating in… Read more

SFC publishes AML/CFT inspection findings and urges intermediaries to ensure compliance

13 September, 2018

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a circular on 31 August 2018 highlighting both deficiencies and good practices observed in relation to anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) compliance by licensed corporations (LCs) and associated entities (AEs).… Read more

COURT OF APPEAL DECISION IN ENRC: ORTHODOXY RESTORED ON LITIGATION PRIVILEGE, BUT NARROW INTERPRETATION OF “CLIENT” REMAINS FOR NOW

5 September, 2018

The Court of Appeal has today handed down its eagerly awaited decision in the ENRC appeal: The Director of the Serious Fraud Office v Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 2006. At first instance, the High Court took a restrictive… Read more

HKMA endorses benefits of cooperation

3 September, 2018

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has recently released its first Guidance Note on Cooperation with the HKMA in Investigations and Enforcement Proceedings. In releasing the guidance note, the HKMA has expressly signalled its desire to encourage and facilitate cooperation,… Read more

Corporate Crime summer update 2018

3 September, 2018

Welcome to the summer 2018 edition of our corporate crime update - our round up of developments in relation to corruption, money laundering, fraud, sanctions and related matters over July and August. ... Read more

US Appellate Court Rejects DOJ’s Expansive Use of Conspiracy for FCPA Jurisdiction

28 August, 2018

On August 24, 2018, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the government's broad interpretation of the jurisdictional reach of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA") and held the government could not use aiding and abetting and conspiracy theories to… Read more

First wave of United States sanctions against Iran re-imposed on 7 August 2018, as the amended EU Blocking Statute comes into effect on the same day

8 August, 2018

End of first wind-down period Following President Trump's decision on 8 May 2018 to withdraw the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action ("JCPOA"), the US government announced that it would re-impose pre-JCPOA nuclear related sanctions (both primary… Read more

TAX ENFORCERS UNITE AGAINST INTERNATIONAL TAX CRIME: ENABLERS, CRYPTOCURRENCIES AND CYBERCRIME ARE PRIORITIES

17 July, 2018

Tax authorities in the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands have joined forces to launch the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement, or “J5” alliance against transnational tax crime and money laundering. ... Read more

SFC proposes to implement revisions to AML/CFT guidelines on 1 November 2018 ahead of FATF Hong Kong evaluation

16 July, 2018

On 5 July 2018, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a consultation paper on proposals to amend the Guideline on Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (Main Guideline) and the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Guideline issued by… Read more

Corporate Crime update – June 2018

10 July, 2018

Welcome to the June 2018 edition of our corporate crime update - our round up of developments in relation to corruption, money laundering, fraud, sanctions and related matters. For the full update on each jurisdiction, please click on the name of the jurisdiction below. Below… Read more

PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE EU BLOCKING STATUTE

21 June, 2018

In May, we published an e-bulletin discussing President Trump's announcement that the United States would withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – "JCPOA"), and that all pre-JCPOA nuclear-related sanctions on Iran (including secondary sanctions) would be… Read more

Corporate Crime update – May 2018

6 June, 2018

Welcome to the May 2018 edition of our corporate crime update - our round up of developments in relation to corruption, money laundering, fraud, sanctions and related matters. Our update now covers a number of jurisdictions. For the full update on each… Read more

AML/CFT COMPLIANCE A KEY FOCUS OF RECENT SUPERVISORY INSPECTIONS BY THE HONG KONG INSURANCE AUTHORITY

5 June, 2018

Late last week, the Hong Kong Insurance Authority (IA) published a circular setting out its key findings from anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) onsite inspections of authorised insurers carrying on long term business. ... Read more

PASSAGE OF NEW SANCTIONS LEGISLATION AND PUBLICATION OF UPDATED GUIDANCE

31 May, 2018

On 24 May 2018, it was announced that the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act (the "Act") had received Royal Assent. The Act is the first piece of UK primary legislation governing the post-Brexit legal position and will create a post-Brexit… Read more

HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS’ GUIDE TO CORPORATE INVESTIGATIONS IN CHINA

30 May, 2018

Kyle Wombolt, global head of corporate crime and investigations, and Anita Phillips, a professional support consultant, have published a guide to corporate investigations in China. This forms part of GIR's acclaimed 2018 text, The Practitioner's Guide to Global Investigations, available… Read more

View more posts

Key contacts

Related links