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Criminal Law Blog

29 February 2024

OFSI publish further guidance on the licence application process

Financial sanctions and, in particular, targeted asset freezes, impact not only the sanctioned individual but also their family and close associates. The UK sanctions regime recognises there are circumstances where otherwise prohibited transactions or activities should be permitted. There are now many different sanctions regulations but they all broadly contain similar exceptions and the power for the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) to issue general and specific licences where the relevant grounds apply (for example, to enable the basic needs of a designated person or financially dependent family members to be met).

 

Gemma Tombs

26 February 2024

C4’s ‘The Jury: Murder Trial’ - what’s the verdict on our jury system?

The programme The Jury: Murder Trial being broadcast on Channel 4 is already proving to be fascinating viewing. The programme in 4 parts follows the deliberations of two juries as they observe a murder trial.

Greg Foxsmith

22 February 2024

Getting tough on insider trading

Insider dealing has long been a serious topic for financial services firms and their regulator, and continues to be a widespread issue across the sector. In the UK, activities which can amount to insider dealing have been criminalised since the 1980s, and are now covered by Criminal Justice Act 1993 (“CJA”), as amended most recently by The Insider Dealing (Securities and Regulated Markets) Order 2023.

In England and Wales, the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) is empowered by section 402 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to prosecute criminal offences of insider dealing under the CJA.  There is also a parallel civil regime under the Market Abuse Regulation, as set out in the MAR module of the FCA’s Handbook, pursuant to which the FCA can also take enforcement action.

James Alleyne

21 February 2024

Difficulties in sentencing historic sexual offences

Cases relating to historic sexual offences seem to have dominated the media in recent times. Some difficult and sensitive issues can arise when the courts are dealing with such cases. When sentencing offenders convicted of historic sexual offences, relatively recent case law provides some helpful guidance (in particular, the cases of R v Limon [2022] EWCA Crim 39; R v Ahmed and others [2023] EWCA Crim 281; and, R v A (Whitelam) [2023] EWCA Crim 1204).

Greg Foxsmith

19 February 2024

Immigration issues and the regulatory consequences for financial services firms

For firms regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), it is vital that the business – and its relevant employees – ensure that its conduct is without reproach in order to avoid supervisory or regulatory difficulties. This extends to issues of governance and administrative matters, as well as more obvious issues of conduct (such as, for example, financial misconduct) which often receive more press.

Anna Holmes

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