DOJ outlines new corporate enforcement priorities: What compliance teams need to know
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has unveiled significant changes to its corporate enforcement policies, signalling a clear pivot in priorities under the second Trump administration. For compliance professionals, the new guidance and direction of travel outlined by the DOJ suggests a renewed focus on self-disclosure and a notable reduction in the use of compliance […]
Pope Leo XIV: Financial crime champion? What global compliance teams can learn from the Vatican’s fight against corruption
When Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost became Pope Leo XIV, he didn’t just become spiritual head of the Catholic Church, but also the temporal leader of one of the largest, oldest, and wealthiest international organisations. In the Vatican City, one of the smallest countries in the world, Renaissance frescos adorn the walls of air conditioned offices, […]
Preparing for failure to prevent fraud: Key steps before 1 September
From September 2025, large organisations in the UK will face a new corporate criminal offence: failure to prevent fraud. Introduced by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, this offence follows in the footsteps of earlier ‘failure to prevent’ laws targeting bribery and tax evasion. While the principle may be familiar, the new fraud […]
Sanctions risks are growing: OFAC’s 10-year rule meets Iran / Russia volatility
Nearly a year since OFAC doubled the statute of limitations for sanctions violations, global businesses face a drastically extended compliance horizon, just as tensions with Iran and Russia escalate and US policy veers toward unpredictability. With new secondary sanctions on the table and a widening enforcement net, the risk of past transactions becoming tomorrow’s violations […]
Are your risk assessments fit for purpose? How Glencore failed to prevent bribery
Mining giant Glencore’s 2023 bribery fine was one of the largest ever. £281 million for bribery in five African countries. The investigation revealed text messages, large cash withdrawals, and deliberately concealed payments indicating that Glencore paid bribes worth $29 million to secure access to oil. Company executives even flew to South Sudan with $800,000 in […]
April compliance news round-up
What’s in this update? Equality Act shake-up: Supreme Court ruling on biological sex and workplace policies New reporting rules: Disability and ethnicity pay gap reporting on the way SRA diversity survey: Free Omnitrack now live for all law firms Bribery, fraud and sanctions: New SFO case and LSAG guidance updates Employment law reforms: Major changes […]
What the EHRC update on single-sex spaces means for your organisation
The recent UK Supreme Court ruling in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers, and the subsequent interim guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), have significant implications for organisations across the UK. The EHRC, as the statutory regulator and enforcer of the Equality Act 2010, has clarified that the terms “man,” […]
How to avoid a corporate offence: What the SFO expects of companies
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has released a significant piece of guidance: Corporate Co-Operation and Enforcement in relation to Corporate Criminal Offending. It clarifies when and how the SFO will offer corporates the opportunity to negotiate a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) and outlines what true co-operation looks like. This is what companies should know and […]
Tariff evasion is tax evasion: The increasing risk of international trade compliance
The inauguration of the second Trump administration has ushered a new era of sweeping tariffs across sectors and entire countries, from steel to semiconductors, Canada to China. But as duties rise, so too does the cost/benefit analysis for businesses to engage in creative workarounds: misdeclaring goods, routing shipments through third countries, or playing fast and […]
Compliance and the definition of sex in the Equality Act: Applying the For Women Scotland ruling in your organisation
On April 16, 2025, the UK Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgment in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16, clarifying that the terms “sex,” “man,” and “woman” in the Equality Act 2010 (EA 2010) refer to biological sex. This decision has significant implications for organisations across the UK, necessitating a […]
