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27 October 2020 / Simon Farrell KC , Joe Edwards
Issue: 7908 / Categories: Features , Covid-19 , Commercial , Fraud
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When the tide goes out: Fraud & corporate wrongdoing in the wake of a predicted economic crisis

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Simon Farrell QC & Joe Edwards discuss fraud & corporate wrongdoing in the wake of a predicted economic crisis

In brief

  • Debt bubbles.
  • A wave of both civil and criminal litigation.
  • Statutory powers and cans of litigious worms.

As Warren Buffet once famously said ‘you only discover who has been swimming naked when the tide goes out’. This was a reference to those exposed in the face of an economic crash. The phrase has often also been used more precisely to refer to those caught out and brought to book either in the criminal and/or the civil courts after a severe economic downturn.

World debt levels have risen inexorably since the 2008 crisis and rose across all sectors by over $10trn in 2019 to $255trn. This was before the COVID crisis. Global debt now stands at 322% of global GDP and is $87trn higher than at the onset of the 2008 financial crisis.

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Switalskis—Sally Ann Masih, Suzy Overton & Jane Beaumont

Switalskis—Sally Ann Masih, Suzy Overton & Jane Beaumont

Trio of recruits strengthens Switalskis residential property team

Ward Hadaway—Steven Hayward

Ward Hadaway—Steven Hayward

Birmingham law firm appoints construction partner

Flint Bishop—six appointments

Flint Bishop—six appointments

Flint Bishop accelerates Northern growth through strategic senior appointments

NEWS
A High Court decision has clarified that a home may be unfit for human habitation not only where conditions endanger health or safety, but also where they seriously undermine comfort and convenience

A longer time limit for employment tribunal claims, new charity law thresholds, property tribunal recruitment and appellate guidance on small-claims costs feature in the latest Civil Way round-up

A recent High Court ruling could make issue estoppel considerably more complex in cross-border litigation, requiring parties to consider the foreign law governing the underlying claim
The Supreme Court has overturned Cheshire West’s bright-line test for deprivation of liberty, replacing it with a broader, more contextual assessment that gives greater weight to an individual’s wishes, feelings and apparent consent
Jonathan Fisher KC’s wide-ranging fraud report contains worthwhile proposals, but turning them into workable reform will require money, capacity and political will
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