White Collar Crime

A man has been convicted of insider trading in an Irish legal first. Declan Service, 63, pleaded guilty to engaging in insider dealing on dates between 18 and 22 May 2020 contrary to the European Union (Market Abuse) Regulations 2016 and section 1368 of the Companies Act 2014.

Six out of 10 business leaders identified reputational damage as their biggest concern following a regulatory investigation, a new survey by Mason Hayes & Curran has found. The survey of 208 industry professionals was carried out at the business law firm’s regulatory investigations and pro

Companies House has been given new powers to tackle fraudulent information on the company register under legislation which received royal assent yesterday. The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act introduces what the UK government calls "world-leading powers" to allow authorities to proacti

A public consultation on the development of strategies to combat economic crime and corruption has been launched by the Department of Justice. The online consultation will help to inform the Advisory Council against Economic Crime and Corruption (ACECC) which was established last year under the lead

The Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA) has appointed Rebecca Coen as director of criminal enforcement. Ms Coen joins the white collar crime agency from the Law Reform Commission, where she was director of research from 2020 onwards. She fills the vacancy created after previous director Suzanne Gu

DLA Piper has rolled out a new AI-powered tool designed to detect bribery risks within corporations. The Aiscension Bribery service, powered by AI technology from Reveal, is trained by lawyers to detect the key forms of bribery behaviour including the giving or receiving of a bribe, circumventing in

William Fry consultant Deirdre O'Donovan and partner Paul Convery look at the enhanced CEA and its involvement in tackling white-collar crime over the last year. With effect from 7 July 2022, the Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA) was formally established as an independent statutory body under th

The maximum jail sentence for tax fraud in the UK will double from seven to 14 years for the most "egregious" forms of evasion. The Treasury announced the change in last week's spring budget and said it will consult on the introduction of a new criminal offence for promoters of tax avoidance wh

Fieldfisher senior associates Will Glover and Neil Cahill examine the record to date of Ireland's Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA). Heralded as "an Irish FBI for white-collar crime" by former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, the Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA) marked its six-month anniversary on 7

UK law firms and accountants that fail to do enough to prevent fraud are the target of the UK government's Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill. The government intends to introduce a new offence in the bill, when it makes its way to the Lords, that will be based on similar offences for bri

Police in England and Wales are no longer interested in catching scammers and con artists, a top fraud lawyer has claimed. Clare Montgomery KC, of Matrix Chambers, said she did not believe police “have any interest in prosecuting fraud anywhere”.

Prioritising traditional forms of crime has left the justice system ill-equipped to deal with continuing rise in fraud, Westminster's justice committee has found. In a report into fraud and the justice system, the committee calls on the UK government to revolutionise the way in which fraud is fought

James Hamilton, a former director of public prosecutions, has been appointed as chair of the government's new Advisory Council against Economic Crime and Corruption (ACECC). Mr Hamilton previously led the government's review of structures and strategies to prevent, investigate and penalise economic

Ministers have approved the publication of legislation to transition the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) into an independent statutory agency with additional resources to investigate and prosecute white collar crime. The Companies (Corporate Enforcement Authority) Bill 2021 wi

Agencies tackling economic crime and corruption will gain the same surveillance powers as gardaí and Revenue Commissioners under legislation to be developed by the end of the year. The extension of powers under the Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Act 2009 to other "appropriate bodies" forms p