Climate change poses serious risks to companies and not just those with asset-heavy supply chains. Even the most flexible, digital professional services companies may be vulnerable.
Thus, all companies need to understand the risks posed by climate change – as well as the opportunities. Companies that prioritise climate risk management will be better positioned to withstand its effects and capitalise on new opportunities.
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Intersectionality describes the relationship between our multiple identities and how they can create a unique experience of discrimination, bias and privilege.
If a person has more than one marginalised or minority group identity, they are more likely to experience overlapping forms of bias, discrimination and disadvantage, both in the workplace and in wider society.
To tackle these inequalities, we cannot look at each identity and the associated injustices in isolation because people experience injustices intersectionally. Therefore, to tackle inequalities, we need to explore these intersecting identities and the unique experiences they create for people.
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Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner mercenary group, a Russian paramilitary organisation, was able to pass UK anti-money laundering (AML) checks by submitting a utility bill in the name of his 81-year-old mother. The sanctions-hit Russian warlord has been accused of human rights abuses around the world.
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Tax Credits Ltd (TCL), a company that charged taxpayers to make claims for tax refunds, has been barred by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) from operating.
HMRC found TCL had committed serious anti-money laundering breaches. As a result, the agency declared that it is now a criminal offence for TCL to trade as a tax repayment agent.
Significantly, the move comes just weeks after HMRC outlined greater protections for customers using repayment agents. The regulations are predominantly designed to prevent businesses from being exploited by criminals to launder money.
“TCL have ignored their responsibilities under the anti-money laundering measures designed to protect us all from financial crime. We will not allow a small number of bad actors to tarnish the reputation of the whole tax agent sector,” said Angela MacDonald, HMRC’s Deputy Chief Executive and Second Permanent Secretary. “It is crucial taxpayers understand the entitlements they can claim directly from HMRC and are properly protected from the misleading tactics used by some repayment agents. The greater protections we’re bringing in will help to stop people unwittingly losing their hard-earned money to misleading agents.”
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The Russian invasion of Ukraine which began on 24 February 2022 has displaced millions and killed tens of thousands of people. The war has also created several overlapping crises, from refugees to food supplies and massive supply chain disruption.
The conflict has also sparked waves of new laws around the world, from sanctions to tougher economic crime compliance. The main victims of the war are of course those directly caught up in it, but businesses all around the world are experiencing the effects of this unprecedented global event which shows no sign of slowing down in the next year.
VinciWorks has created a guide that reviews the key compliance challenges and lessons which have impacted on business one year into this devastating conflict.
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We are all multi-dimensional in our identities. Someone may be both a woman of colour and a lesbian, for example, or an older man from an economically deprived background may also have a disability. Both of them may well have a faith, and they may also be parents or carers. Few of us see our identity in terms of one sole defining characteristic, but initiatives around inclusion have often tended to take precisely that approach, failing to appreciate the complex interplay between the different characteristics and experiences that make us who we are.
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In November 2022 HMRC released the summary of responses from their consultation on the UK’s Mandatory Disclosure Rules (MDR).
The consultation clarified that:
With UK MDR expected to come into force in the first half of 2023, Vinciworks was joined by John Sandeman, HMRC’s policy official for Mandatory Disclosure Rules, who helped our listeners get to grips with the UK MDR and how it may impact your organisation.
The webinar covered:
The SRA have released further guidance and rules over the last few months. In this blog, Compliance Office’s Andrew Donovan shares the key points.
With increasing public concern that some solicitors are using SLAPPs on behalf of their clients, the SRA has issued a warning notice that tells law firms not to act for clients in this way and outlines some of the activities they would consider to be abusive litigation. A ‘SLAPP’ typically refers to some sort of legal threat or action intended to stifle public commentary or publication. The concern is solicitors being hired to inappropriately threaten and scare people from speaking up.
Solicitors should only be labelling correspondence as ‘not for publication’, ‘strictly private and confidential’ and/or ‘without prejudice’ when the conditions for using those terms are fulfilled. The new guidance and warnings make clear that confidential markings cannot unilaterally impose a duty of privacy or confidentiality where one does not already exist. Similarly, making excessive or meritless claims or aggressive or intimidating threats will result in regulatory action. The SRA could not be much clearer that firms should not be hired simply to scare people off if there are no legitimate legal grounds to make any relevant claims or threats. The Bar Standards Board (BSB) is actually considering following the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) in issuing guidance on strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs).
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As regulations are tightening and the risk landscape is continually evolving, firms are facing increasing pressure to make sure that their Anti Money Laundering (AML) compliance programme is effective. Beyond the implications of fines or damage to reputation is the very real danger of disruptions to operations and in particular criminal liability.
It’s critical for firms to assess if their AML framework is strong and robust enough to prevent and detect instances where the business can be manipulated to clean money or to finance terrorism.
An independent audit provides this assurance and enables the firm to address issues before they become a problem or are detected by the authorities.
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The UK government have announced they are pushing ahead with a game-changing new regulation to expand the ‘failure to prevent’ family of offences to failure to prevent fraud.
Proposed amendments could even see corporate officers jailed if they take a decision, or fail to take a decision, that could lead to economic crime such as fraud, false accounting or money laundering being committed.
Failure to prevent encompasses a wide array of compliance failures, from not having the right policies in place, to a lack of procedures to even training courses that aren’t effective in delivering the right information to employees.
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