The UK government recently published an interim update on its consultation on proposed legislation to tackle online harms. The legislation will impose a new duty of care on companies that facilitate the sharing of...more
The regime for Unexplained Wealth Orders will come into force on 31 January. This is a novel power in the UK.
Law enforcement agencies such as the National Crime Agency and Serious Fraud Office will be able to apply to...more
Clauses conferring jurisdiction on the English courts are often included in cross-border contracts, even in cases where the parties have little or no connection with England. There are many reasons for this, including the...more
The Recast Brussels Regulation1 (the "Recast Regulation") currently governs recognition and enforcement of judgments in EU Member States for proceedings issued on or after 10 January 2015. The previous Brussels Regulation2...more
The 4th Anti-Money Laundering & Terrorist Financing Directive (4AMLD) came into force on 25 June 2015; and the Member States of the European Union are (currently) obliged to transpose it into their national laws by 26 June...more
Who can be sued? In England and other common law countries a civil claim for breach of "fiduciary duty" can usually be made against senior public officials involved in corruption.
When does it apply? A claim for...more
Too often, for a variety of reasons, law enforcement agencies are unable to take meaningful action against assets suspected to be corrupt. That might be, for example, because the state that has suffered corruption is unable...more
To what extent must a bank make inquiries as to the commercial purpose of a transaction, particularly a transaction involving an offshore structure? And when is a bank liable to compensate a victim of theft for receiving...more
Take a simple bribery scenario. A foreign Government Minister is the key decision-maker for the award of a contract to build and operate infrastructure, say a toll road. A UK contractor wins the contract in a purportedly...more
Civil proceedings brought by the state are one mechanism to recover the proceeds of crime, or to claim compensation for corrupt acts: as discussed in our previous post Recovering the proceeds of corruption: an overview....more
Companies are competing to win a contract. One pays a bribe to exclude its competitor from the bidding process, or to win the contract. If caught, it faces prosecution under the UK's Bribery Act 2010, as do its bribing...more
Cooley discusses the legal options open to states seeking to locate, freeze and recover the proceeds of corruption laundered to foreign states, and considers their advantages and disadvantages.
Corruption cases are...more
A public official receives a bribe to award a contract. Does the bribe "belong" to the official or to the state that he or she represents? The answer to the question can matter a great deal to the success of a claim. But the...more