clyde jones's List: Bark & Co Solicitors

As one of the leading serious fraud firms in UK, Bark & Co regularly have to advise their clients on the implications of money laundering charges which often accompany investigations and prosecutions of fraud. UK legislation is wide ranging and recent changes to the law have increased the likelihood of money laundering charges being pursued vigorously by the authorities. The team at Bark & Co are experts in the interpretation of the law and in particular the parameters open to the prosecuting authorities in respect of money laundering charges.
In the UK, primary legislation on money laundering includes the Terrorism Act 2000, the Anti-Terrorism Crime & Security Act 2001, the Proceeds of Crime Act 2005 and the Serious Crime and Police Act 2005. Secondary legislation comprises Money laundering Regulations 2003 and 2007. These increasingly stringent regulations put the onus on businesses to ensure that certain controls are in place to prevent them being used for money laundering purposes including customer due diligence measures and internal controls and monitoring systems.
Under UK law, it is a money laundering offence when a person enters into, or becomes concerned in, an arrangement which facilitates by whatever means the requisition, retention, use or control of criminal property (assets or money) by another person. In many cases, the authorities seek to block suspected money laundering activities at an early stage by applying severe constraints even where there is scant evidence of wrong doing. Actions include forfeiture of assets etc.

LONDON (Reuters) – A London court granted bail on Friday to Kweku Adoboli, a former UBS (UBSN.VX) trader accused of unauthorised deals that cost the Swiss bank $2.3 billion in one of the most high-profile cases of so-called “rogue trading” since the 2008 financial crisis.


Adoboli, who denies charges of fraud and false accounting, was arrested last September when the huge loss came to light.

The British-educated Ghanaian was present during Friday’s bail application at Southwark Crown Court, which was heard behind closed doors to protect the privacy of a group of friends and relatives who offered sureties to help secure bail.

An earlier application for bail was rejected in February and Adoboli has been held at Wandsworth Prison in southwest London.

“He is delighted, hugely grateful to the judge and to his friends and family. It was a very emotional scene,” lawyer Tim Harris, who is acting for Adoboli, told reporters after the hearing.

Adoboli did not immediately walk free because various administrative steps had to be taken first. Harris said he expected Adoboli to be released early next week.

As part of his bail conditions, the ex-trader who used to live in a $1,500-a-week apartment near UBS’s London office will have to live at a friend’s house under curfew and will be tagged. The amount of sureties offered was not disclosed.

A further pre-trial hearing is scheduled for late July and the trial itself is expected to start on September 3.

The stakes are high for Adoboli, who faces a jail sentence of up to 10 years if convicted, but they are also high for UBS, which will face searching questions about its management.