02/19/2020
Priti Patel shakes up immigration to points based system
They will also be relieved by the lowering of the threshold for what’s considered skilled, as well as a suspension of the cap on skilled workers.
Legal, Regulation & Compliance
02/19/2020
Facebook faces tax court trial over Ireland offshore deal
Ireland has lower corporate tax rates than the United States, so the move reduced the company’s tax bill.
02/19/2020
FCA value rules could end trail commission
The value rules — which have been in effect since the start of 2020 — require asset managers to carry out assessments of their performance, costs, economies of scale, comparable market rates, services and share classes every year.
02/18/2020
Commission consultation on the review of the MiFID II/MiFIR regulatory framework
MiFID II and MiFIR started to apply in January 2018, bringing significant improvements to the functioning and transparency of EU financial markets.
02/18/2020
English Pre-Pack Appeal Changes the Game for Directors – Perspectives from Insolvency Lawyers in Jersey, Guernsey and Ireland
The judge ruled that a company director’s purchase of residential property from the company’s administrator at a “significant undervalue” had not been in the interests of creditors.
02/18/2020
TPR's Response to the Future of Trusteeship and Governance Consultation: What Does it Mean for Trustees?
TPR states that it will look to simplify how it presents its TKU expectations.
02/18/2020
FCA warns of suitability risks in advice firms looking to sell
The FCA said: "We have concerns that advisers may be recommending products with an ongoing advice requirement, potentially instead of more suitable options that do not have ongoing fees.
02/18/2020
Bahamas Removed from EU blacklist
The decision acknowledges that The Bahamas has implemented all the necessary reform to address concerns regarding economic substance, removal of preferential exemptions and automatic exchange of tax information.
02/18/2020
Taxation: Council revises its EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions
Jurisdictions that do not yet comply with all international tax standards but committed to reform are considered cooperative and included in a state of play document (Annex II).
02/17/2020
Important decision for directors of companies in 'soft touch' provisional liquidation
The liquidator alleged that a director of the Company had breached his statutory duties as a director of the Company under the UK Companies Act during the course of the administration.
02/17/2020
English High Court Confirms Status of Cryptoassets as Property
The Applicant applied for an interim proprietary injunction over the Bitcoins that remained in the cryptocurrency exchange account.
02/17/2020
Luxembourg update: Context of Brexit
During this transition period, EU laws and regulations will continue to apply in the UK and UK entities can continue to work in Luxembourg on the basis of their passporting rights.
02/17/2020
IOSCO issues report on regulating cryptoasset trading platforms
IOSCO notes that where a regulatory authority has determined that a cryptoasset is a security and falls within its remit
02/17/2020
What is behind the acquittal of two former Vatican officials?
The Italian anti-money laundering law at the time considered the IOR an entity coming from a non-European jurisdiction, and so “not equivalent” to the Italian anti-money laundering system.
02/17/2020
Europe strengthens its financial supervision authorities
The purpose of this new update of the supervisory framework is to address one of the priority goals of the action plan for Capital Markets Union
02/14/2020
Despite Appeals Win, Google Agrees to EUR 1B Settlement to Avoid Criminal Prosecution
The controversy began several years ago with the search and seizure of Google France’s premises.
02/14/2020
Barclays Boss Jes Staley Probed By Britain’s Financial Watchdogs Over Links To Jeffrey Epstein
The investigation is actually focused on transparency and whether I was transparent with and open with the bank, and with the board, with respect to my relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
02/14/2020
ICA Announces New Partnership to Develop Best Compliance Practice in the Czech Republic
The agreement will help meet the organisations’ shared values to help companies conduct business in the right way and grow through the adoption of internationally recognised best practice by going beyond just meeting regulatory requirements.
02/14/2020
Penalties, remediation, and our General Principles
Speech by Mark Steward, FCA Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight, delivered at the City & Financial Global Ltd event, London.
02/14/2020
TPR to promote DB schemes under new rules
The DB amendment requires the government to lay before both the House of Lords and House of Commons a strategy for protecting public sector DB schemes within six months of the Pension Schemes Bill becoming an Act.