Blog
Permission to Visit - Goldilocks and the Three Bank Statements
Robert Houchill
27 July 2018
Disclosure of Evidence in Criminal Cases – time to restore fairness in the criminal justice system
On 20 July 2018, the House of Commons Justice Committee released their report on the Disclosure of Evidence in Criminal Cases. Matthew Hardcastle, an Associate in our Criminal Litigation team, acted as a specialist advisor to the Committee during this inquiry.
26 July 2018
Media focus on first 'McMafia law' challenge
Media reports today focus on the first challenge to the Unexplained Wealth Order with headlines such as: “Harrods big spender fights to keep mansion” (BBC News) referring to the case before the High Court on 25th July where “Mrs A” sought to discharge an Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO) obtained by the NCA against her husband, “Mr A”, in respect of two UK properties with a combined value of £22 million. The NCA alleges that Mr and Mrs A obtained their wealth through foreign corruption.
26 July 2018
The death penalty: do we, or do we not, oppose it?
“I put it to Ministers that they cannot be a little bit in favour of the death penalty”. So said Diane Abbott in the Commons on Tuesday. This was during an aggressive Q&A session which followed her urgent question to the Home Secretary asking for a statement clarifying the UK’s stance on the death penalty. The question was asked following the already infamous leaked letter written by the UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid to the US Attorney General Jeff Sessions in relation to the request from the US for evidence to assist with proceedings against Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, the remaining members of the Isis cell known as ‘The Beatles’.
25 July 2018
AML: reforming the suspicious activity reporting regime – have your say
It seems there is no escape from pronouncements on the scourge of money laundering and how tackling economic crime is a government and law enforcement priority. From the Treasury Select Committee inquiry into Economic Crime to the Financial Conduct Authority’s Anti-Money Laundering Report 2017-18 the message is clear: money laundering is a facilitator of almost all serious, organised and major crime. Tackling it is absolutely a strategic priority for law enforcement in the UK.
24 July 2018
New police training indicates authorities believe cryptocurrency is here to stay
Earlier this month, the Lord Chancellor David Gauke confirmed that a new 18 courtroom legal centre is to be built on the site of Fleetbank House in London which will focus on issues such as economic crime (including fraud) and cyber crime. Due to be established in 2025, this “state-of-the-art court” is to give the message to the world that Britain “stands ready to deal with the changing nature of 21st century crime”.
- Controlling and coercive behaviour
- Corporate crime
- Corporate manslaughter and health and safety
- Crime and justice
- Cyber crime
- Extradition and international crime
- Financial crime and financial regulatory enforcement
- Fraud
- Internal investigations
- Legal Updates
- Online Safety Regulation
- Police investigations
- Proceeds of Crime
- The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act
- Unexplained Wealth Orders
- Youth crime and justice