header-logo header-logo

07 June 2024 / Satnam Tumani
Issue: 8074 / Categories: Opinion , Fraud , Criminal , Commercial
printer mail-detail

All change at the top

176270
Satnam Tumani anticipates a more focused approach to tackling financial wrongdoings

Various changes have taken place at the top of the leading white collar enforcement agencies. Nick Ephgrave was recently appointed director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Therese Chambers and Steve Smart were appointed to head up the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) enforcement division, and Stephen Parkinson has taken over as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Following the general election on 4 July, the UK will have a new government, with Sir Keir Starmer currently in pole position to become the next prime minster.

In my experience a change of political colour at the top often leads to a change in focus for the various financial crime enforcement agencies. This dynamic may be amplified this time around by dint of three reasons.

First, Sir Keir is a former DPP. Second, there appears to be great appetite for change, albeit little appetite for spending public money in the pursuit of that change. Third, we may not have seen the

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Firm awards training contracts to paralegals through internal programme

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Cumbria firm appoints new head of residential property

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
back-to-top-scroll