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03 March 2023 / Anita Clifford
Issue: 8015 / Categories: Features , Fraud , Criminal , Regulatory , Financial services litigation
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Failure to prevent fraud: catch me if you can

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Failure to prevent fraud… and more? Anita Clifford reports on the broadening scope of the proposed ‘failure to prevent’ offences & the likelihood of their success
  • The government has announced that new failure to prevent offences provisions will be proposed as an amendment to the Economic Crime and Transparency Bill currently before Parliament.
  • The provisions are likely to attract cross-party support and would make it an offence for an organisation to fail to prevent fraud and possibly also money laundering.
  • Organisations will be compelled to review their internal controls.
  • If the offence includes the failure to prevent money laundering just how the legislation will interact with anti-money laundering regulation will need to be worked out.

A radical expansion of the failure to prevent model is in sight following the government’s backing of a new corporate offence of failure to prevent (FTP) fraud and possibly other conduct such as money laundering. On 25 January 2023, security minister Tom Tugendhat MP announced that

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Newcastle & North of England Law Society—Lesley Fairclough

Newcastle & North of England Law Society—Lesley Fairclough

Ward Hadaway partner becomes bicentennial president following regional merger

Devonshires—four promotions

Devonshires—four promotions

Firm promotes four senior associates to partner in annual round

Fieldfisher—John McElroy & Daniel Hayward

Fieldfisher—John McElroy & Daniel Hayward

Co-heads of dispute resolution practice appointed alongside partner promotions

NEWS

From blockbuster judgments to procedural shake-ups, the courts are busy reshaping litigation practice. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School hails the Court of Appeal's 'exquisite judgment’ in Mazur restoring the role of supervised non-qualified staff, and highlights a ‘mammoth’ damages ruling likened to War and Peace, alongside guidance on medical reporting fees, where a pragmatic 25% uplift was imposed

Momentum is building behind proposals to restrict children’s access to social media—but the legal and practical challenges are formidable. In NLJ this week, Nick Smallwood of Mills & Reeve examines global moves, including Australia’s under-16 ban and the UK's consultation
Reforms designed to rebalance landlord-tenant relations may instead penalise leaseholders themselves. In this week's NLJ, Mike Somekh of The Freehold Collective warns that the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 risks creating an ‘underclass’ of resident-controlled freehold companies
Timing is everything—and the Court of Appeal has delivered clarity on when proceedings are ‘brought’. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ, Stephen Gold explains that a claim is issued for limitation purposes when the claim form is delivered to the court, even if fees are underpaid
The traditional ‘single, intensive day’ of financial dispute resolution (FDR) may be due for a rethink. Writing in NLJ this week, Rachel Frost-Smith and Lauren Guiler of Birketts propose a ‘split FDR’ model, separating judicial evaluation from negotiation
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