High Court considers entitlement of investment firm to terminate Bitcoin trading account due to alleged money laundering concerns

The High Court has found in favour of a claimant investor in a dispute arising from the termination of her Bitcoin trading account with an online trading platform and concurrent cancellation of open trades (as a result of an alleged money laundering risk): Ang v Reliantco Investments Ltd [2020] EWHC 3242 (Comm). Although the claim relates to an account used to trade Bitcoin futures, the decision will be of broader interest to financial institutions, given the potential application to other types of trading accounts and accounts more generally. Read more

SFC releases FAQs simplifying compliance with electronic data storage requirements – But is it really as simple as it looks?

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has released its long awaited FAQs regarding its 31 October 2019 circular on the use of external electronic data storage providers (EDSP Circular). While there are some aspects of the FAQs which we anticipate will create practical challenges and will require some careful analysis to implement, we generally consider the FAQs to be a significant step forward and to provide much needed flexibility for the industry. Read more

Supreme Court remits £14bn class action against Mastercard back to Competition Appeal Tribunal for reconsideration of certification

Earlier today the Supreme Court handed down its hotly-anticipated judgment regarding the certification of an opt-out competition collective action brought by Walter Merricks against Mastercard. The claim is seeking £14bn in damages on behalf of some 46.2 million UK consumers, in respect of losses alleged to have resulted from the use of anti-competitive multilateral interchanges fees. Read more

EU introduces global human rights sanctions regime

On 7 December 2020, the Council of the EU announced the introduction of a new global human rights sanctions regime, as part the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2020-2024. The new regime introduces a framework to impose a travel ban and asset freeze on individuals and entities identified as responsible for, involved in or associated with, serious human rights violations and abuses worldwide. Read more

FSR Outlook 2021: Paving the Way Forward

We are pleased to announce the launch of FSR Outlook 2021: Paving the Way Forward. In this annual publication, we survey the regulatory landscape in 2021 and identify some themes that we expect to be at the core of regulatory priorities globally in the next 12 months. Read more

Court of Appeal overturns refusal to approve Prudential/Rothesay Life transfer

The Court of Appeal has today allowed an appeal from Mr Justice Snowden’s refusal to approve the transfer of some 370,000 annuities from The Prudential Assurance Company Limited to Rothesay Life plc. The court has confirmed that there were errors in Mr Justice Snowden’s approach to the exercise of the court’s discretion on insurance business transfers and has delivered some much needed clarity to the Part VII process. Read more