The following are some useful legal news updates from August 2012 from our criminal solicitors. Contact us for specialist legal advice or representation on any of these areas.
House Prices in “Surprising Jump”
August 31, 2012
UK house prices jumped by a “surprising” 1.3% in August, according to the Nationwide building society. See the BBC’s article here.
Squatting Becomes Criminal Act
August 31, 2012
A law making squatting in a residential building a criminal offence comes into force shortly, meaning squatters could face jail or a fine. See the BBC’s coverage of this story here.
Buying a House Tips: Raising a Deposit for a Mortgage
August 31, 2012
Click here to see the article in yesterday’s Telegraph containing a video guide to buying a home. Contact Richard McConnell if you are considering buying a new home.
“Generation Rent” Hopes for an Inheritance to Get on the Housing Ladder
August 31, 2012
The Telegraph has published an interesting article about the hopes of young people today, claiming “Generation rent’s” despair at ever getting on the housing ladder is taking a morbid turn with 42% of tenants claiming that their best hope of raising a deposit and becoming a homeowner is an inheritance. This demonstrates the need to provide fully for all your dependents after death or consider making an intervivos gift. Contact Prue Abrahams
New Offensive by SRA against Alternative Investments to be in Force in Early 2013
August 30, 2012
See Siobhain Egan’s blog here on this subject.
MPs Attack Customs’ Failure to Tackle Alcohol Tax Evasion
August 30, 2012
The Telegraph reports that customs officials have been criticised by MPs for failing to crack down on criminal gangs who dodge alcohol tax at an estimated cost to the Treasury of more than £1bn. Read the article here
How Does HMRC Spot the Tax Evaders?
August 30, 2012
There has been a lot in the news recently about tax non-compliance and there are various shades of grey among the official guidelines. The Telegraph provides some insight into how HMRC collates its data here.
If you are facing a tax investigation of any type, contact Jeffrey Lewis or Siobhain Egan .
EADS Appoints PwC to Investigate £2billion Saudi Deal
August 30, 2012
The Telegraph reports that defence giant EADS has appointed accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers to conduct a parallel investigation to the Serious Fraud Office probe into bribery allegations at its subsidiary GPT Special Projects. Read more here.
CML Says Mortgage Lending Bounced Back in July
August 20, 2012
Total mortgage lending rose in July to the highest level so far this year, but the Council of Mortgage Lenders has warned that the property market was still flat. See the BBC’s coverage here.
Discharge of Sexual Offences Prevention Order
August 20, 2012
Tony Meisels has succeeded in discharging a SOPO made against a client in July 2005.
The sentence imposed by the Magistrates’ Court for the original substantive offence had been a community order and, as such, the client would have ceased to be on the Sex Offenders Register after 5 years. In this case, however, our client had remained subject to the provisions of the Register for a further 2 years as the SOPO was to run until further order. This month those provisions have since become even more onerous than before.
If you have a query about appealing your SOPO, please contact Tony Meisels
Standard Chartered Faces Fines of Up to $1billion
August 20, 2012
The Telegraph reports that Standard Chartered faces fines totalling as much as $1billion (£637million) before it finally settles accusations that it by-passed US Iranian money-laundering sanctions. Read the full report here.
Another Major Investigation for the SFO
August 20, 2012
Senior executive at EADS, the European aerospace and defence group that owns Airbus, were warned five years ago about questionable payments that are now part of an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office. See coverage of this by the Telegraph here.
HMRC Send Out Tax Penalties of £1,200
August 20, 2012
Around 500,000 people are being sent notices of penalties of at least £1,200 for failing to submit their self-assessment tax returns. Read the BBC’s article here.
Aggressive Stance from FSA’s New Head of Enforcement and Financial Crime
August 16, 2012
Tracey McDermott warns that soft-touch regulation is over and firms pushing things to the limit should expect no sympathy. See article in yesterday’s Guardian here.
We are currently advising a number of clients facing such investigations. Contact Jeffrey Lewis or Siobhain Egan.
Standard Charter Fight US Claims of Money Laundering
August 16, 2012
Peter Sands, the chief executive of Standard Chartered, flew to New York on Monday in a last ditch bid to secure a settlement and avoid a public showdown with US regulators over Iranian money laundering charges. Read the article in the Telegraphhere.
Judge Urges People to Confront Elderly Relatives over Driving Skills
August 16, 2012
A judge has urged relatives of elderly drivers to think “very, very carefully” whether they should still be on the road after a 90-year-old retired GP killed another motorist in a head-on collision while on the wrong side of a dual carriageway last week. Read the Telegraph’s coverage here.
Consult any of our motoring law team if you have concerns about yourself or a relative on this issue.
FSA Appoints New Enforcement Chief
August 16, 2012
A new head of FSA enforcement was appointed last week. Read the full information in an article dated 10 August in Legal Weekhere.
Interview with Jeffrey Lewis on Business Crime Defence Published Today!
August 9, 2012
Read the online version here.
Fresh Allegations of Money Laundering for Leading Bank
August 7, 2012
US regulators have accused the British bank, Standard Chartered, of scheming with Iran to launder hundreds of billions of dollars over almost a decade.
Both the BBC and the Guardian have coverage on this story; click here to read the BBC article and here for the Guardian’s piece.
Jeffrey Lewis Interviewed by Lawyer Monthly
August 2, 2012
Jeffrey Lewis has been interviewed by Lawyer Monthly in connection with a feature on Business Crime in the UK. To read the full article please click here and see page 59.
A Defence Lawyer’s Perspective on Cyber Crime
August 1, 2012
Miles Herman has written a fantastic new article for our new Solicitors’ Blog. Read it here.
Murdoch’s News Corp. Directors May Encounter Charges and Prosecution for Neglect of Duties
August 1, 2012
Nick Davies and David Leigh at the Guardian newspaper reported yesterday that lawyers for Rupert Murdoch’s company, News Corporation, have protested against criminal charges amid fears over broadcasting contracts. Read their full article here.
SFO Search Warrants on Tchenguiz Ruled Unlawful by High Court
August 1, 2012
Articles by both the BBC and the Guardian have highlighted the decision yesterday by Judges at the High Court that the Serious Fraud Office provided ‘inadequate and unfair’ information in order to obtain search warrants in their investigations into two high-profile businessmen. Read the full BBC article here and Simon Neville’s article in the Guardian here .
Whistle-blowers on Tax Evasion Paid £1m
August 1, 2012
The Telegraph reported yesterday that more than £1million has been paid out in rewards to tax evasion informants since the start of the financial crisis. Read the full article here.
HSBC Sets Aside $700m for Money-Laundering Fines
August 1, 2012
HSBC has apologised for its ‘shameful’ systems failures that allowed it to launder money for terrorists and drug barons, a report in the Guardian explains. Read the full article here.
Reports of Possible Jail Time for Those Involved In the Libor Rigging Scandal
August 1, 2012
Both the Guardian and the Telegraph have published articles this week on the Libor rigging scandal, focusing on how the FSA and SFO are continuing their investigations and moving closer to bringing criminal charges against those involved. Read Jill Treanor’s article in the Guardianhere, and Banking Correspondent Harry Wilson’s article in the Telegraph here .
The Lengths to Which People Go to Avoid Tax
August 1, 2012
In an article for the BBC News magazine on 26 July 2012, comedian and writer Colm Regan ponders whether the people who have the most to hide are the same as those who have the greatest instinct to hoard, as the amount of tax stored in offshore accounts is reported to be more than the mind can comprehend. Read the full article here.
Extraordinary New HMRC Initiative to Catch Tax Evaders
August 1, 2012
The Telegraph’s Senior Political Correspondent, Christopher Hope, reported on 25 July 2012 that HM Revenue and Customs are set to encourage schoolchildren to tell their teachers if a neighbour is evading tax. Read the full article here.