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Two wrongs do not make a right – criminal convictions and stolen data
On Friday 5 July 2012 HMRC announced that a wealthy property developer, who had failed to disclose a Swiss bank account to HMRC during a civil inquiry, had pleaded guilty to the serious charge of cheating the public revenue
Read moreBeware of "settling" for standard form settlement wording
The recent decision of the Court of Appeal in the case of Kazeminy v Siddiqi1 highlights the potential pitfalls that await parties who rely on standard form settlement wording to settle complex multi-party disputes.
Read moreHMRC scores own goal in insolvency ruling regarding the Football League
In HMRC v The Football League Ltd1 the High Court delivered judgement on the controversial "football creditor rule" operated by The Football League.
Read moreSolicitors not under a duty to ensure that court staff issue in time
This case Page v Hewetts Solicitors caused a stir back in November when the high court held that a claim form was statute barred notwithstanding evidence it had been received by the court in time.
Read moreHMRC – Not enough staff and too much uncollected tax
The Public Accounts Committee of the House of Commons (‘the PAC’) has published its 87th report (HC Session 2010-12) on HMRC’s Compliance and Enforcement Programme.
Read moreMP’s partner loses privacy and harassment case against newspaper publisher
Carina Trimingham has lost her privacy and harassment case against the publishers of the Daily Mail.
Read moreA Defendant's Assets - What About Their Pension Fund?
In the recent case of Blight and others v Brewster1, the High Court allowed a judgment debt to be enforced against part of a defendant's pension fund.
Read moreWhat’s really wrong with pictures of the Duchess of Cambridge shopping?
The celebrity magazine Heat has published the following apology:
Read moreEclipse Film Partners No 35 – To trade or not to trade, that is the question!
The First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) ('FTT') has recently held in Eclipse Film Partners No 35 LLP v HMRC [2012] UKFTT 270 (TC),...
Read moreRetrospective legislation: where are we now?
I commented last year on the important decision in Huitson, in which the Court of Appeal, hearing a joined appeal from two judicial review claims,...
Read moreDirectors & Officers beware - the SFO gets serious
Following the collapse of various high profile cases and the subsequent inquiry into its practices, change is clearly rife at the Serious Fraud Office.
Read moreWhen can you sue under a disguised name?
In what circumstances can a claimant in civil litigation commence proceedings under a pseudonym?
Read moreTax tribunal prevents HMRC from broadening their attack on an SDLT return
The distinction between fixtures (which form part of the land) and chattels (which do not) can have significant consequences for stamp duty land tax ('SDLT') purposes.
Read moreSome Other Good Reason - Default Judgment and the Court's Discretion
The Court can set aside default judgment where either: (a) the defendant has a real prospect of successfully defending the claim; or (b) it appears to the court that there is some other good reason why the judgment should be set aside or varied or the defendant should be allowed to defend the claim.
Read moreJudgment awaited in Trimingham harassment case
Carina Trimingham's privacy and harassment case against Associated Newspapers was heard by Mr Justice Tugendhat in the High Court last week. Judgment has been reserved.
Read moreNot so credible deterrence
The FSA's Enforcement Guide states that taking action against individuals sends an important message about the FSA's regulatory objectives and priorities and the FSA considers that such cases have important deterrent values.
Read moreAnother voyage of discovery by HMRC - hypothetical ignorance?
This month saw the release of yet another discovery assessment case: Sanderson v HMRC [2012] UKFTT 207 (TC).
Read moreAll taxpayers are equal, although some are more equal than others!
In the recent case of Spectrum Legal Services Limited v HMRC [2012] UKFTT 191 (TC), HMRC drew criticism from the First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) ('Tribunal') over its refusal to treat two taxpayers, in similar circumstances, in the same way
Read moreFriday 13th brings bad news for CMCs
The Law Society Gazette has today revealed (following a FoI Request) that in the twelve months to March 2012, 734 CMC businesses were 'cancelled' by the MoJ.
Read moreFirst it was insurance brokers and now it's investment bankers... FSA tests anti-bribery and corruption controls at investment banks
The FSA recently published the findings of its thematic review of anti-bribery and corruption (ABC) systems and controls at 15 investment banks.
Read moreParliamentary committee reports on privacy
The Joint Committee on Privacy and Injunctions has reported.
Read moreAccess to Documents in Criminal Proceedings – Guardian Challenge Secures Change
The Court of Appeal has ruled that where documents have been placed before a judge and referred to in the course of open proceedings, the default position should be that access should be permitted on the open justice principle.
Read moreTaxpayers are entitled to organise their affairs so that the minimum amount of tax is paid!
The recent decision of the First-tier Tax Tribunal ('FTT') in James Albert McLaughlin v The Commissioners for HM Revenue and Customs1, is a timely reminder that taxpayers are perfectly entitled to organise their affairs so that the minimum amount of tax is paid.
Read moreHMRC have to play by the rules too!
The recent decision of the First-tier Tax Tribunal ('the Tribunal') in Furukawa Electric Europe Limited v Revenue & Customs Commissioners [2012] UKFTT 129 (TC) ('Furukawa'),...
Read moreNo discovery – HMRC fail before the First-Tier Tribunal
HMRC's ability to raise 'discovery' assessments under section 29 of the Taxes Management Act 1970 ('TMA'), is a topical issue at the moment and there have been a number of important cases in recent months (see our previous blog here of30/01/12).
Read moreMoJ publishes first statistics on privacy injunctions
Yesterday the Ministry of Justice published the first set of statistics on privacy injunctions, following the recommendations in the report by Lord Neuberger's Committee on Super Injunctions published in May last year.
Read moreHector Sants’ resignation will throw finance sector into confusion
Hector Sants’ resignation this morning is surprising given that his remit was to deliver an orderly transition to the government’s new twin peaks regulatory structure.
Read moreIt ain't broke, but… - Government finally confirms how it proposes to fix the UK competition regime
The Department for Business Innovation and Skills today published its long-awaited response to its consultation on reforming the UK competition regime.
Read moreBack to the beginning – root cause analysis re-booted by de facto PPI past business review
The FSA's guidance to firms on contacting PPI customers that have not complained marks a resumption of hostilities in the PPI arena and amounts, in effect, to an industry-wide direction to conduct a past business review (PBR).
Read moreNo more 'sweetheart' deals with the taxman?
HMRC have recently announced new governance arrangements for "significant tax disputes".
Read moreGiggs' claim for privacy damages is struck out
Ryan Giggs has lost his claim for damages against News Group Newspapers ("NGN").
Read moreFRC plans to focus on disciplinary action
The FRC has published its Draft Plan & Budget for 2012/13.
Read morePPI – end of an era or a new chapter?
The FOS recently released its latest six-monthly figures showing the types and levels of complaints received by financial institutions.
Read moreHMRC run contrary arguments before the First-tier Tribunal!
In the recent case of Cobb v HMRC [2012] UK FTT 40 (TC), the First-tier Tribunal ('FTT') said that HMRC should be able to suspend all or part of a penalty imposed for a careless inaccuracy in a tax return of an individual...
Read moreWas Lehmans' collapse unforeseeable? The High Court said it was - but FOS disagrees
The courts and FOS are now headed down very different paths in their approach to credit crunch losses suffered by clients of regulated firms.
Read moreFSA delivers on AML promise
Following its thematic review and report on "Banks’ management of high money-laundering risk situations" published in June last year, the FSA on Monday announced that it has fined Coutts £8.75 million for anti-money laundering (AML) control failings.
Read moreICO fines Midlothian Council £140,000 - ICO's highest ever fine for data breaches
The Information Commissioner's Office (the "ICO") has fined Midlothian Council £140,000 for five separate security breaches, which involved accidental disclosure of confidential and sensitive personal data about children and carers to the wrong recipients.
Read moreSupreme Court widens scope of 'client money'
The Supreme Court yesterday ruled that client money held in un-segregated accounts should be treated the same as client money held in segregated accounts, ...
Read moreLeading regulatory and corporate crime silk to lead the AADB
Yesterday the FRC announced the appointment of Gareth Rees QC to the position of Executive Counsel to the Accountancy and Actuarial Discipline Board (AADB).
Read moreMoU between FCA and FOS: will complaints handling become more risky?
The FOS published a draft MoU with the future FCA that has blurred an already hazy line between the ombudsman and regulator.
Read moreWhen is a document within a taxpayer's "possession or power"?
HMRC have a range of powers available to them under Schedule 36 of the Finance Act 2008 ("Schedule 36") to require persons to produce documents and information and to inspect premises.
Read moreInquiry into the SFO better late than never
Following the collapse of some high profile cases, Dominic Grieve, the Attorney General, has ordered an inquiry to review the SFO's casework and broader issues, including how the SFO chooses which cases to investigate.
Read moreCausation - the multi-billion pound question
The FSA's £1.5m fine imposed on Santander UK plc yesterday raises again the question of whether causation should be required for firms in the financial services industry to be liable to their clients.
Read moreChief Executive of Ann Summers gets privacy injunction
Mr Justice Tugendhat has today handed down a short judgment explaining why he made an interlocutory order to prevent the publication of private and confidential information about Jacqueline Gold, the high-profile Chief Executive of Ann Summers.
Read moreCabinet minister's 17-year-old son gets privacy injunction but not anonymity
The son of Caroline Spelman, the Environment Secretary, has obtained an injunction against the publishers of the Daily Star Sunday.
Read moreUnknown Associates
How much evidence do you need to substantiate a claim for tax relief?
Read moreStrasbourg Rulings on Two Personal Privacy Claims
The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights yesterday handed down its much anticipated decisions in the important privacy cases Axel Springer and von Hannover.
Read moreFOS undeterred in its plans to publish firm names in Ombudsman decisions, despite concerns
The FOS has released a summary of responses to its September 2011 paper "publishing ombudsman decisions: next steps" confirming its plan to publish all Ombudsman decisions.
Read moreEinhorn not pleased as Punch with insider dealing fine of £7.2m
If you honestly believe that information given to you is not inside information but the FSA thinks your belief is unreasonably held, then you lay yourself open to sanctions for market abuse, notwithstanding that you have no intention to commit market abuse.
Read moreShould Demi Moore's emergency call have been kept private?
When the actress Demi Moore needed emergency medical care at her home in Los Angeles last week, her friend called 911.
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