The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has reported that the former Governor of Nigeria’s Delta State, James Ibori, and his solicitor and co-defendant Bhadresh Gohil, have been ordered to pay a total of over £128m following confiscation proceedings at Southwark Crown Court. Ibori pleaded guilty to conspiracy-related money laundering and fraud charges in 2012 and was sentenced to 13 years in prison. Gohil was convicted of related charges in 2010 and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment. The CPS has reported that during the confiscation proceedings the total financial benefit Ibori received from offending, and the value of his available assets, were both disputed. At the conclusion of the hearing, Ibori was ordered to pay £101.5m or face an additional eight years’ imprisonment. A confiscation order was also made against Gohil, who must pay almost £28.2m or serve an extra six years in prison. Chief Crown Prosecutor for the CPS Proceeds of Crime Division, Adrian Foster, commented that 'this was one of our largest international cases and illustrates how robustly the CPS tackles international illicit finance and corruption'.

Law360: The former Pensions Ombudsman has praised the work of an anti-fraud unit established in 2021 after it emerged that the government was pulling funding for the service.

Law360: The Royal Mint discriminated against its Human Resources director for a reason arising in consequence of her disability (of depression, anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) by denying her request to rescind the resignation that she submitted while grappling with her mental health conditions, but did not directly or indirectly discriminate against, or fail to make reasonable adjustments for, her, an employment tribunal has ruled.

The Pensions Ombudsman's (TPO) former Interim Chair Anthony Arter has written to the Work and Pensions Select Committee regarding the Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) decision to end funding for TPO’s Pensions Dishonesty Unit (PDU). The letter was prompted by the Committee’s interest in the work of the PDU, established by Arter in his former role as the Pensions Ombudsman in November 2021.  Arter notes that PDU determinations have resulted in sanctions whereby individuals are banned from acting as directors and are prohibited from holding trusteeship roles in the future. In cases where an individual has filed for bankruptcy, a finding of dishonesty means they cannot be discharged until the required repayments are made. According to Arter, holding fraudsters accountable in a public manner not only validates the loss and suffering of the affected members but also contributes to a reduction in future scams by curtailing fraudsters' abilities. Additionally, Arter sees TPO as playing a vital role by collaborating with agencies such as the Pensions Regulator and Action Fraud to combat pension scams. The letter emphasises that with improved public finances in the future, it is hoped that additional funding would continue such important work. Arter notes that among pension complaints, losing one’s entire savings due to a scam ranks as one of the most severe.

MLex: Two former UK anti-corruption champions have urged the government to swiftly appoint a new lawmaker to take up the position after more than two years with no one in the role.

MLex: A former WhatsApp public policy director has been appointed as the new third joint head of Ireland’s data protection watchdog in a move that has drawn criticism from privacy campaigners on Thursday.

Restructuring & Insolvency analysis: An application by the former administrators of a company for an increase in their remuneration has been dismissed, despite the court concluding that they had standing to bring the application itself. Written by Phillip Patterson, barrister, Gatehouse Chambers.

Any fund which immediately before 6 April 1980 was an approved superannuation fund for the purposes of section 208, Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1970, that: (1) has not been approved for the purposes of Chapter 1, Part 14, Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 since 5 April 1980; and (2) has not received any contributions since 5 April 1980.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has charged former Greenergy biodiesel trader, Gianni Rivera with two counts of fraud and one count of money laundering in connection with its investigation into the sustainable fuel sector. It is alleged that while agreeing trades between Greenergy Fuels Ltd and Biodiesel Kampen BV, Rivera received payments from the director of Biodiesel Kampen, Cornelis Bunschoten. It is also alleged that on a number of occasions the money Rivera received was transferred back to companies linked to Bunschoten. As the case is active, the SFO can provide no further comment on proceedings.

An individual to whom pension credit rights have been or are to be allocated following a pension sharing order, agreement or equivalent provision.

Disputes over the interests of cohabitants in their family home upon the ending of the relationship are commonplace. Despite the enduring myth of the common law husband and wife, such disputes fall to be determined in accordance with the law of trusts, unlike the statutory framework that applies to property where parties are married. Well-advised cohabitants will put in place a declaration of trust that deals with their respective shares and the mechanism for sale or one party buying the other out at the end of the relationship.

The Crown Prosecution Service has reported that Mohammed Shafiq, a former company director, has been found guilty by the Nottingham Crown Court for fraud by false representation, for his role in a property scheme where he fraudulently sought to sell a community centre without the owners' knowledge, following the East Midlands Special Operations Unit's fraud and money laundering investigation. Shafiq used fake details and identification documents to defraud solicitors into believing he had the consent of the owners to transfer the property into the name of Shields & Co UK Ltd, a company where he was the sole director. The Crown Court sentenced Shafiq to a five and a half year sentence on 8 September 2023.