Russia takes its war with Ukraine to London’s High Court as battle begins over a soured $3bn bond deal March 16, 2023 The UK’s top court yesterday ruled the Ukrainian government should be given the opportunity to face the Kremlin in London’s High Court, in a more than $3bn dispute over a 2013 bond deal. The Supreme Court’s ruling is set to see the UK’s High Court become the new front for the continuing fight between Russia [...]
World’s top insurers to face aircraft leasers in High Court ‘mega trial’ over planes seized by Russia March 15, 2023 Insurance giants Lloyd’s, AIG and Fidelis are set to face a ‘mega trial’ in London’s High Court over their refusal to pay out billions in insurance claims to aircraft leasers that had their planes seized by President Vladimir Putin. A High Court judge has ruled claims brought forward by an array of the world’s biggest [...]
KPMG stands behind audit of Silicon Valley Bank, accounting firm’s US chief says March 15, 2023 The chief executive of KPMG’s US business has said the Big Four accounting firm stands behind its audit of Silicon Valley Bank, after it gave the California financier a clean bill of health just two weeks before its collapse. KPMG chief Paul Knopp told an event at New York University that “we stand behind the [...]
PwC strikes deal with San Francisco startup to let lawyers and tax experts use AI chatbot March 15, 2023 PwC has struck a deal to start using an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot to speed up work in its tax and legal divisions as the world’s top professional services firms increasingly look towards tech to boost efficiency. The accounting firm’s initial 12-month contract with San Francisco startup Harvey will see all 4,000 staff in PwC’s [...]
ENRC: UK’s Serious Fraud Office must share blame for its former lawyer’s leaks, Dechert tells High Court March 15, 2023 US law firm Dechert has accused the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) of knowingly cultivating an “improper relationship” with its former partner, corrupt City lawyer Neil Gerrard, in an ongoing legal battle concerning Kazakh mining firm ENRC. The law firm’s charge comes as it responds to a High Court claim by ENRC, which is seeking [...]
Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG vows to fund steel producer ABB’s fight against New York bankruptcy case March 14, 2023 Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance has set out its plan to block steel producer Aartee Bright Bar (ABB) from being forced into bankruptcy. The conglomerate, which fully acquired the Midlands company last month, said it would ask a court to block New York investment fund FGI from plunging ABB into insolvency. GFG said its rescue plan [...]
Silicon Valley Bank collapse poses ‘tremendous opportunity’, lawsuit funder LCM says March 14, 2023 The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank poses a “tremendous opportunity” for more lawsuits, funder Litigation Capital Management (LCM) has said. The firm is readying itself to profit on an uptick in bankruptcies as the global economy hits a slump, the company’s chief executive has said. The Australian financier, that in February made £7m in profits [...]
Calls to overhaul ‘antiquated’ trial rules grow as SFO forced to drop G4S case March 14, 2023 The UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) on Friday said it would be dropping its case against three former G4S executives over claims they defrauded the UK government of tens of millions of pounds. The collapse of the SFO’s case came after G4S itself took responsibility for the fraud that saw it mislead Britain’s Ministry of Justice [...]
Phoenix: Insurer hikes dividend after volatile markets hit investments and share price March 13, 2023 British insurer Phoenix Group today posted a £1.23bn loss as volatile markets hit the value of the insurance company’s investment portfolio. Shares in the FTSE 100 company fell sharply on the news as Phoenix pointed to the “challenging economic backdrop” after noting it generated 12.5 per cent less cash than in 2021 The insurer, however, [...]
EY puts global split on hold following fight over tax business March 9, 2023 EY’s plans to split its audit division from its consulting arm are on the brink of collapse amid a fight over the future of its tax business. The Big Four accounting firm has “paused” its plans for a global split, in the face of fierce disagreements over the extent to which its tax division should [...]