Investigations update and horizon scan: July 2021

Welcome to our mid-year investigations update and horizon scan. We have set out below recent webinars, podcasts and blogs in which members of our global team consider key developments in Q2 and what we expect to see in the second half of 2021. Key developments include:

1. Challenges for companies in putting in place whistleblowing programmes in line with different countries’ implementation of the EU Whistleblowing Directive (required by December 2021);
2. Further regulatory scrutiny of how companies manage and monitor mobile data;
3. An increased focus on strengthening corporate criminal liability laws and on the role of auditors in detecting fraud;
   
4. A continued growth in fraud arising out of the pandemic and related government schemes;
5. More focus from the UK Serious Fraud Office and other authorities on the substance of corporate compliance programmes; and 
6. A continued focus from authorities on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers and on ESG.

In our cover video,  David Harris and Annie Birch consider the future of dawn raids and responding to data requests in light of the shift to a hybrid working model.

Please email Andrew Reeves; Claudia Culley or the authors of the articles if you have any questions or would like to discuss any of the issues raised.

Investigations and litigation

Webinars and podcasts

• Navigating parallel litigation and investigations: finding solutions to the challenges
• EU Whistleblowing Directive: what you need to know 
• Mobile data and investigations: Expectations of authorities, challenges and practical tips 
• Cross-border enforcement and litigation challenges: recent trends and future risks
• Corporate Criminal Liability: What businesses and senior officers need to know
• Avoiding common pitfalls around market disclosure

Blogs

• Beware the use of WhatsApp at work: practical steps for firms with a view to avoiding some common pitfalls 
• Top practical tips on the preservation, collection and review of mobile data in investigations
• The FCA's whistleblowing publications
• TCPA update: SCOTUS clarifies TCPA auto-dialer requirements (Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid)
• MAS consultation to impose requirements on financial institutions conducting unregulated business

Money laundering and fraud

Webinars

• Financial crime: AML and market abuse trends in 2021

Blogs

• Financial crime outlook: The Biden Presidency and new and improved anti-money laundering tools 
• SFO publishes Serco Statement of Facts / The trial of SFO’s case against former Serco executives collapses
• UK FRC enhances fraud-spotting standards for auditors
• Government circular on the confidentiality and sensitivity of suspicious activity reports in civil litigation
• Updated CPS guidance on s330 POCA prosecutions where money laundering cannot be proven

Anti-Bribery and Corruption (ABC)

Webinars

• Risk assessments and the expectations of global authorities – what this means for businesses
• Effective policies and procedures in anti-bribery and corruption compliance programmes
• Joint ventures: Dealing with ABC, sanctions and human rights concerns
• The evolving role of the compliance officer 

Blogs

• NCA: Bribery and corruption risk to rise
• Coalition for Integrity report: AI a useful tool in ABC compliance for larger organisations
• Making it count: Transparency International’s key recommendations on measuring the effectiveness of an ABC compliance programme