Global Glimpses

British Prime Minister Theresa May withstood a parliamentary “no confidence” vote, keeping her efforts for a U.K. exit from the European Union on track, if not any less contentious and fragile.

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) issued its long-awaited corporate governance standards for private companies, providing a framework to help the companies meet legal requirements and improve and disclose their governance.

Amid faltering odds that became apparent during three days of debate, British Prime Minister Theresa May has, at least temporarily, withdrawn her much-maligned Brexit plan from Parliamentary voting consideration.

More than 100 ministers, international sports organizations, and experts from around the world met in London on Dec. 6 to reaffirm their global commitment toward tackling corruption in sport.

Deutsche Bank has provided more details on a two-day raid, in which German prosecutors searched several Deutsche Bank offices, in connection with the Panama Papers. The case also imparts some important compliance lessons.

Deloitte and KPMG have gone further than EY and PwC in their comments to the current CMA review of the industry, but it seems unlikely the members of the Big Four won't get on the same page.

The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation and Britain’s upcoming divorce from the European Union both have a tremendous impact on European compliance, but strategizing solutions around either one has proven to be difficult due to a lack of guidance and, in the case of Brexit, just plain chaos.

Stephen Emler and Giuseppe Morreale pleaded guilty for their part in a corrupt scheme to secure a ConocoPhillips freight forwarding contract, worth over £16m, for logistics and freight operations company F.H. Bertling as part of the ‘Jasmine’ North Sea oil exploration project, the U.K. Serious Fraud Office announced.

Japanese automaker Nissan has dismissed Carlos Ghosn from his chairman role, following his arrest by prosecutors in Japan for engaging in financial misconduct.

Hannah von Dadelszen, the U.K. Serious Fraud Office’s joint head of fraud, in recent remarks offered some useful insight as to how a company should engage with the SFO if it chooses to self-report misconduct.

A new U.K. initiative aims to enhance processes for catching fraudsters and financial service abusers while educating industry and government agencies on how to identify and prevent economic crime.

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority is on a mission to thwart as many “cliff-edge” risks as possible during the Brexit transition.

Facebook has been hit with a £500,000 fine by the Information Commissioner’s Office for serious breaches of data protection rules stemming from the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Apple CEO Tim Cook voiced his support for the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation and advocated for a similar U.S. mandate based on four “essential rights.”

There’s a lot more at stake for the United Kingdom than just interrupted Netflix access should a no-deal Brexit become a reality. 

The U.K. Court of Appeals recently shot down an appeal by supermarket chain Morrisons to overturn an earlier judgment denouncing it as liable for a data breach instigated by a disgruntled former employee. A march to the Supreme Court is next.

Mexico needs to give more priority to foreign bribery enforcement, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in its Phase 4 evaluation of Mexico’s implementation of the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions and related instruments.

In honor of Anti-Slavery Day (October 18), companies may want to familiarize themselves with a recent guide from the IEMA on complying with environmental and human rights laws.

The Bank of England (BoE) wants boards of financial services firms to take a stronger role in identifying and managing financial risks caused by climate change by making individual executives accountable and improving disclosure.

A Shell pensioner is threatening to take his own pension fund to the U.K.’s Pensions Ombudsman for maladministration—unless the company can prove it is managing its climate-related risk.

The Data Protection Authority of the German state of Lower Saxony recently began random examinations into how well companies are implementing the EU’s General Data Protection Regulations. Compliance officers of U.S. companies with operations in Germany should be on alert.

The U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office has taken formal enforcement action against 34 organizations that have failed to pay the new data protection fee.

The U.K. Serious Fraud Office said it has issued a claim for civil recovery in the High Court under Part 5 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Canadian data analytics firm AggregateIQ Data Services has become the first company to face a formal enforcement action by the U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office for violations of the EU General Data Protection Regulation and the U.K. Data Protection Act.

A no-deal Brexit could have serious consequences for the corporate realm, but few companies appear armed for the challenges. In contrast is U.K. retailer Next, which has published a paper on its preparations that could help others face a no-deal Brexit possibility.