In this article, we examine the potential impact on organisations managing global supply chains of the recent Court of Appeal judgement in the case against the National Crime Agency (NCA) brought by the World Uyghur Congress...more
In a landmark ruling, the Court of Appeal in a case brought by the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) has clarified that the provision of “adequate consideration” at some point in the supply chain does not prevent goods imported...more
The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) recently secured its first forfeiture of sanctioned funds. This was a landmark achievement for the NCA’s Combatting Kleptocracy Cell, which has only existed since 2022 and aims to...more
In this week’s edition we discuss the implications of a decision against the National Crime Agency, which the UK’s Court of Appeal held had misinterpreted the law when it refused to investigate whether imported cotton was...more
On 27 June 2024, the Court of Appeal handed down judgment in World Uyghur Congress v National Crime Agency [2024] EWCA Civ 715. The challenge of a 2023 decision by the High Court was brought by World Uyghur Congress ("WUC")...more
Why is this case important? The case challenged a decision by the National Crime Agency (“NCA”) not to carry out investigations into whether consignments of cotton goods were the product of alleged forced labour and/or other...more
The ruling propels UK law enforcement to increase its investigative powers under POCA, and businesses to enhance their supply chain due diligence. On 27 June 2024, the UK Court of Appeal found that the National Crime...more
The UK Court of Appeal recently held that the National Crime Agency’s decision not to investigate whether cotton goods manufactured in China and imported to the UK were the product of forced labour was unlawful — a decision...more
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) introduces two new "pay away" exemptions to the principal money laundering offences in sections 327, 328 and 329 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA)....more
A recent English court ruling has shed light on the approach of UK enforcement authorities to the question of money laundering risks where there is potential forced labour / modern slavery in a supply chain. The ruling will...more
On 25 November, the High Court of England and Wales ruled in a significant decision that suspected proceeds of crime linked to unnamed individuals must be transferred to the National Crime Agency (NCA). The funds were held by...more
Introduction - The art market is characterised by high-value, portable items that can be bought and exchanged quickly and often confidentially. These features, which make the market inherently vulnerable to many types of...more
The Law Commission has published its much anticipated report on reform of the UK's anti-money laundering and terrorism financing regime, and in particular of the system of suspicious activity reports ("SARs"). The proposed...more
Lonsdale v National Westminster Bank [2018] EWHC 1843 (QB) (18 July 2018) - A bank was ordered to disclose, to a customer, suspicious activity reports (SARs) that the bank had sent to the National Crime Agency (NCA) at the...more
Canada legalised recreational cannabis in October 2018 and it may be that other countries follow suit. UK and US investors, and those who facilitate investments in legal recreational cannabis businesses overseas, need to be...more
On 7 February 2019, the UK National Crime Agency (“NCA”) announced that it had, for the first time, successfully used its powers of account freezing orders (“AFOs”) to forfeit over £400,000 from three UK bank accounts...more
The UK saw its first use of an Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO) in February 2018 when the NCA successfully imposed orders on two UK properties, one in the exclusive Knightsbridge area of London and the second, a golf course in...more
The UK National Crime Agency (“NCA”) has successfully resisted a challenge to the issue of its first Unexplained Wealth Orders (“UWOs”). The victory comes shortly after the agency announced its intention to expand the use of...more
What happens when a company’s bank accounts are frozen and, as a result, faces imminent collapse, but the bank opposes a court application to process key transactions on the basis that if the bank is made to do so by the...more
NCA v N and Royal Bank of Scotland plc [2017] EWCA Civ 253, 7 April 2017 - The courts can side step the Proceeds of Crime 2002 (POCA) consent regime (whereby consent from the National Crime Agency provides a defence to...more
A number of very significant changes are being made to the UK anti-money laundering regime. Of particular interest to the private equity industry will be the proposed new criminal offence of failure to prevent the...more