Global Glimpses

Organisations that fail to implement effective cyber-security measures could face significant fines, as part of plans to make Britain’s essential networks and infrastructure safe, secure, and resilient against the risk of future cyber-attacks.

The U.K. government this week published a consultation seeking views on its plans to implement the EU’s Network and Information Systems Directive, which is due to come into force in May 2018.

The U.K. Serious Fraud Office confirmed that it is investigating suspicions of corruption in the conduct of business by British American Tobacco, its subsidiaries, and associated persons over bribery allegations in East Africa.

The Financial Conduct Authority has launched a consultation regarding the government-proposed Office for Professional Body AML Supervision, which sets out draft expectations about how professional body supervisors can meet their AML supervision obligations.

The Netherlands, the U.K., Ireland, Singapore, and Switzerland are the world's leading conduit offshore financial centres, funnelling money from one point to another for the purposes of tax evasion.

The U.K. Serious Fraud Office confirmed this week it has opened an investigation into suspected corruption by mining company Rio Tinto.

The U.K’s new Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision said that it will tackle potential weaknesses in the supervisory system that criminals and terrorists may be trying to exploit.

If a regulator wants to deflect blame from itself, it had better come up with a set of credible changes and even better—a proper apology.

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority fined a compliance oversight officer £75,000 for failing to exercise due skill, care, and diligence concerning pension transfer failings.

The U.K. Serious Fraud Office confirmed that it has opened an investigation into the activities of London-based Amec Foster Wheeler for allegations of bribery, joining U.S. authorities in their bribery investigations into the energy services company.

Leaders of the G20 met over the weekend to address major global economic challenges. On the agenda: a pledge to make their public administrations more resilient against corruption, ensuring that both companies and individual perpetrators are held to account.

A new multinational centre to coordinate law enforcement action against grand corruption was launched this month. The International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre (IACCC), hosted by the U.K.’s National Crime Agency, brings together specialist law enforcement officers from multiple jurisdictions into a single location to tackle allegations of grand corruption.

A taskforce of environmental lawyers in the United Kingdom gathered in London last month to discuss how to roll over environmental law after withdrawal from the European Union.

The European Union’s antitrust watchdog this week fined Google a record €2.42 billion for breaching EU antitrust rules.

The U.K. Financial Policy Committee this week published its latest Financial Stability Report, which sets out its views on the U.K. financial system’s stability and an assessment of any risks to it.  

A U.K. court on 20th June sentenced a former London bank official to six years in prison for accepting more than £2million in bribes in return for approving large loans.

Inside is a look at the U.K. Law Society’s submitted comments on a recent report entitled, “Independent Review of Employment Practices in the Modern Economy.”

The FCA Market Abuse Regulation is meant to deal with a wide range of possible market misconduct, but it does not synch cleanly with laws in other countries.

Companies may need to audit how their products are used if they want to avoid being tainted by association with future disasters.

The Serious Fraud Office has charged Barclays and four individuals with conspiracy to commit fraud and the provision of unlawful financial assistance contrary to the Companies Act.

A series of case studies highlighted in a new report by the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility provide some solutions to addressing the problem of modern slavery.

Theresa May was supposed to thrash Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn in the recent election and strengthen her mandate for the Brexit negotiations. She failed on both counts, making Brexit more complicated than before.

The board of directors of oilfield services provider, Petrofac, recently announced a number of significant governance changes, amid a bribery and corruption investigation by the Serious Fraud Office. 

Facebook’s record of complying with EU data and merger regulations is not looking good, as the company has racked up violations and fines from the European Commission and regulators in Italy and France.

Airbus announced this month the establishment of an independent review panel to help improve its compliance controls and culture, as the European aircraft maker faces numerous investigations into allegations of bribery and corruption across several countries.