News and commentary about white-collar crime, enforcement, and compliance
Harry Cassin
Publisher and Editor
Andy Spalding
Senior Editor
Jessica Tillipman
Senior Editor
Bill Steinman
Senior Editor
Richard L. Cassin
Editor at Large
Elizabeth K. Spahn
Editor Emeritus
Cody Worthington
Contributing Editor
Julie DiMauro
Contributing Editor
Thomas Fox
Contributing Editor
Marc Alain Bohn
Contributing Editor
Bill Waite
Contributing Editor
Russell A. Stamets
Contributing Editor
Richard Bistrong
Contributing Editor
Eric Carlson
Contributing Editor
Not much has changed at the F.H. Bertling Group since a former UK division and a number of top-level employees pleaded guilty. The logistics company continues to employ a corruption-convicted director, and its UK business appears to be going from strength to strength.… Continue Reading
In the prior post, I described the lackluster approach to enforcement that has characterized the Financial Reporting Council. What’s the cause? A large part of the explanation lies in the regulator’s closeness to those that it is supposed to be holding to account.… Continue Reading
The Financial Reporting Council is investigating KPMG for failing to spot large-scale bribery at Rolls-Royce. But there are serious questions whether the regulator, which is yet to impose a sanction in a corruption-related case, will carry out a proper inquiry.… Continue Reading
In a landmark ruling, the High Court in London has said that interview notes — made by a company’s external law firm as part of internal investigations into allegations of corruption in Kazakhstan and Africa — are not protected by legal professional privilege.… Continue Reading
There’s a growing sense that agents and intermediaries that facilitate corrupt deals are immune from prosecution in the UK.
The Unaoil case — and it should be stressed that no allegations of corruption against the company have been proven — provides an opportunity to rectify this perception of impunity for intermediaries.… Continue Reading
Buried deep within the judgment rejecting Unaoil’s judicial review that I talked about in the prior post, Lord Justice Gross makes a very important point, namely that such challenges to Serious Fraud Office investigations should be “very rare.”… Continue Reading
On March 29, two senior UK judges dismissed an attempt by Unaoil to challenge an SFO investigation into allegations that the company paid bribes around the world. It is the latest in a fast-growing list of failed judicial reviews against the SFO brought on shaky legal grounds.… Continue Reading
Recent media reports suggesting Rolls-Royce’s bribery settlement drove the engineering giant to a record £4.6 billion ($5.7 billion) loss are not factually accurate, and contribute to a misleading narrative that big companies are too fragile to be punished robustly for corruption.… Continue Reading