Corker Binning Blog
FSA restructuring – what implications for financial crime prosecutions?
On 15 February 2012, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) announced that the managing director of its conduct business unit, Margaret Cole, will leave the financial regulator at the end of March. Her exit follows a number of departures of senior staff from the FSA as the coalition government continues to implement its policy to restructure the way in which the financial industry in the UK is regulated. So what is the shape of things to come?
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Advertising and trading in the Olympic Event Zones – tough regulations now in force
The Olympic Games and Paralympics Games (Advertising and Trading) (England) Regulations for the London 2012 Olympics are now in force. These regulations control advertising and trading in and around “event zones” during certain periods whilst the events take place. The regulations are aimed at preventing “ambush marketing” in order to protect the Olympic sponsors who have invested over £700 million in sponsorship thus far. Ambush marketing is essentially where a company or an individual associates their product or service with a particular sporting event – in this case the Olympics – without paying for the rights to do so.
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FSA gets tough on market abuse – implications of the Einhorn case
The market abuse case brought by the FSA against David Einhorn and Greenlight Capital in which a financial penalty in excess of £7 million was announced last week has laid down a prominent marker for all those operating in the UK financial markets, wherever in the world they may be based. Local laws and the interpretation of those laws by overseas regulators may be very different to the regulatory approach in the UK so foreign market participants need to take particular heed of this case.
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Why cheating in sport is still a problem and what it means for the Olympics
Notwithstanding the shock felt by many cricket fans over the recent Pakistani spot-fixing case, cheating and corruption has long been a problem in sport. Ever since Hanse Cronje admitted taking money from betting syndicates in India and around the world more than a decade ago, the integrity of the modern game of professional cricket has been tarnished.
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Does causing death by careless driving always mean prison?
The modern road safety regime means that, even if you haven’t touched a drop of alcohol, carelessness behind the wheel resulting in death could land you with a sentence of up to five years’ imprisonment. That’s the effect of the death by careless driving offence Parliament introduced in 2006. But what aggravating factors will a court take into account when sentencing careless drivers?
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How best to reform UK extradition law – some suggestions for Sir Menzies Campbell’s review
Last Friday’s judgments in the cases of Tappin and O’Dwyer have again focused minds on the vexed issue of the UK-US extradition treaty. Two questions were asked repeatedly on news channels around the UK. Is the treaty fair and balanced? And if not, how should it be reformed?
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New power to appeal bail – the thin end of the wedge?
David Cameron has indicated that he intends to change the law to allow prosecutors to appeal against a Crown Court’s decision to grant bail. Following the announcement, which came as part of Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday (11 January 2012), the Ministry of Justice made the following statement: “Defendants who pose a danger to the public should always be remanded in custody while they are awaiting trial. The Government intends to strengthen the law in this area by allowing prosecutors to challenge Crown Court bail decisions where they feel a potentially dangerous prisoner could be bailed.” Although only a preliminary statement, this language does give cause for concern.
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Double jeopardy – its significance in the Stephen Lawrence murder case
18 years after Stephen Lawrence was killed in a racist attack in south east London, Gary Dobson and David Norris have been convicted of his murder. As well as bringing a sense of closure, the convictions represent a significant legal milestone as a high profile example of a conviction following the repeal of the ‘double jeopardy’ rule in England and Wales.
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Leveson inquiry – Piers Morgan, rubbish bins and the law of theft
In giving evidence to the Leveson inquiry. Piers Morgan admitted to using the services of Benjamin Pell, dubbed “Benji the Binman” by the press, a man who apparently built a career on going through the bins of celebrities and selling their rubbish to newspapers. Mr Morgan accepted in his evidence to the inquiry that the act of removing material from a bin was “on the cusp” of being unethical but did not feel that this was illegal. So much for the perception of ethics and legal knowledge of one former tabloid editor!
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Santa – is it a fair cop?
It’s June at the North Pole. A grey haired, bearded man sits in his board room, head in hands. On the table lies a crumpled piece of paper on which the words “Secretary of State, Extradition Request” and “UK ” are just visible. Around him hover his advisers, a selection of elves dressed in green suits, [...]
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