UK in the dark about real owners of £6.7bn worth of British properties February 7, 2023 The UK government is still in the dark about who owns tens of thousands of British properties, after thousands of offshore firms failed to comply with new transparency laws, which campaigners said exposes the UK property market to huge money-laundering risks. There are almost 52,000 properties in Britain, worth a combined sum of £6.7bn, that [...]
Criminal prosecutors secure 15 per cent pay hike as part of emergency funding deal February 6, 2023 Criminal prosecutors in England & Wales will be given a 15 per cent pay hike to lure them back to court after striking an emergency funding deal. Barristers will receive the same fees for carrying out both defence and prosecution work after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) secured extra cash via a deal with the [...]
Tesla: Musk’s EV giant ready to enter UK insurance market with launch of London firm February 6, 2023 Electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla appears to be readying itself to begin insuring British drivers through the launch of its own London-based insurer. Elon Musk’s automotive company is seeking to open a UK branch of its Malta-based insurance business, filings to Companies House show. Tesla is also hiring a lawyer to work in its “full-stack [...]
Big Four look to hire London’s laid-off bankers to bolster their M&A teams February 6, 2023 The Big Four accounting firms – Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC – are seeking to hire laid-off bankers to bolster the ranks of their M&A advisory arms in the City. Top execs told Morning Wire the world’s biggest professional services firms are seeking to capitalise on the downturn in big M&A deals by poaching talent [...]
EY says it does not owe ‘duty of care’ to taxman in fight over property magnate’s tax affairs February 6, 2023 EY has said it is under no obligation to help HMRC collect more taxes in defending itself against a High Court lawsuit over a British property magnate’s tax affairs. The Big Four accounting firm said it owed no “duty of care” to HMRC to have given it information that could have helped it collect more [...]
London’s litigation financiers primed to profit on global downturn, Therium chief says February 3, 2023 London’s litigation funders are in a prime position to capitalise on the global economic downturn, the founder of one the UK’s top lawsuit financiers told Morning Wire The economic slump threatens to stretch in-house legal budgets and drive an uptick in legal battles, Therium founder Neil Purslow said, which could force companies and litigants turn [...]
Balli Steel execs found guilty of £120m fraud at collapsed trading firm February 2, 2023 Two Balli Steel executives have been convicted of using forged documents to mislead banks into lending the bankrupt commodities trader $150m (£122m). A jury at Southwark Crown Court today found Balli Steel executives Melis Erda and Louise Worsell guilty on six counts of fraud. Worsell, the managing director of Balli’s UAE business, and Erda, group [...]
UK to ‘use all tools’ available to crack down on thousands of firms that missed property register deadline February 1, 2023 The UK government has vowed to “use all the tools” at its disposal to crack down on the thousands of overseas companies that have failed to report their beneficial owners with Companies House’s new property register. The government pledged to fine and prosecute the “oligarchs and non-compliant organisations” that missed yesterday’s deadline to declare their [...]
Baker McKenzie launches ‘thorough review’ into ex-lawyer’s racism allegations February 1, 2023 US law giant Baker McKenzie has vowed to immediately conduct a “thorough review” into claims a mixed-race lawyer was subject to multiple instances of discrimination in one of its European offices. The Chicago firm’s review comes after one of its former lawyers claimed she felt forced to leave her job due to facing poor mental [...]
Law firms face fines or closure over ‘incompetent’ solicitors as watchdog renews crackdown February 1, 2023 The UK’s solicitors’ watchdog has warned that law firms could be fined or shut down if they fail to deal with incompetent solicitors, as it looks to take tougher action against firms and lawyers that fail to meet the regulator’s expectations. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) said yesterday that it intends to “broaden the ways” [...]