Series
Blogs
In case you missed them: Recent developments in business crime and investigations
In case you missed them: Recent developments in business crime and investigations
11 June 2026
Series
Blogs
11 June 2026
Author: Jane Larner
We have published several articles on our Insights pages recently discussing a variety of developments in business crime and investigations law and practice.
In case you missed them and to help you catch up, here are links to some of our most important recent briefings and a note on why you should read them.
The laws on legal professional privilege are a point of significant interest and divergence across the global legal landscape. Advice that is privileged in one country may not be so protected in others. Differences in the application of legal professional privilege by courts and regulators across jurisdictions can lead to difficult decisions for organisations under investigation or involved in court litigation. In some jurisdictions, the scope and application of legal professional privilege remain the subject of debate, while the availability of privilege for in-house counsel communications can never be assumed.
Our fully revised and updated Global Guide to the law and practice relating to legal professional privilege will help you keep on top of the potential issues and risks that may arise when considering how privilege applies in any given situation.
In its latest enforcement actions for breaches of Russian financial sanctions, the UK’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has imposed penalties on both a bank and its customer in respect of the same transactions. In doing so, OFSI demonstrated its willingness to trace and punish all aspects of the same breach.
Both cases were resolved under OFSI’s new settlement procedure introduced in February this year and the outcomes give an indication of what organisations suspecting or being involved in a sanctions breach can expect from OFSI going forward. The agency also gave informal guidance in its two penalty notices, noting in particular that the responsibility to ensure that sanctions compliance measures are effective lies with entities themselves, notwithstanding that they have engaged third party agencies to conduct screening for them.
In our briefing we consider the key lessons firms should take away from OFSI’s latest pronouncements. In a nutshell, ensuring the implementation and effective operation of appropriate sanctions due diligence and screening procedures, particularly if these have previously been found wanting, remains key.
The Crime and Policing Act 2026 introduces a large number of public order and harm offences, terrorism and national security and police powers.
Tucked away in section 250 is the previously announced amendment to corporate criminal liability as enacted in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, extending it from certain economic crimes only to all criminal activity. Once the section comes into force on 29 June 2026, in-scope companies and partnerships may be held criminally liable where a "senior manager" commits any type of crime whilst acting within the actual or apparent scope of their authority.
In this briefing we look at what this reduction in the threshold for attributing “fault” crimes means for businesses and consider the steps they can take to reduce their exposure to risk.
In our 2026 Litigation, Arbitration & Investigations “Look Ahead” we explore how developments in legislation and policy, together with the growing role of new technologies, are reshaping the UK disputes landscape. In particular, we cover: