Law360: A raid on the London office of commodity brokerage MCML Ltd following a request from Danish prosecutors investigating an alleged £56m tax fraud was lawful, a London court ruled on 17 April 2024.

This Checklist summarises the strategic considerations which should be assessed when an organisation is subject to a raid by the police or other regulatory enforcement body. • Stay calm and polite and request a copy of the warrant under which the investigators seek access. • Ask the investigators to wait in a board room rather than reception if one is available. • Read the warrant or authorisation carefully, checking the purpose and extent of the warrant, the named individuals authorised to carry out the search, at which specific premises and the day on which it can be executed. It should be signed and dated. Refuse access to anyone not named on the warrant. • Request

Following privatisation, new passenger rolling stock was typically financed by the three original bank-owned rolling stock companies (ROSCOs) using financing made available by their bank owners. The three original ROSCOs—Angel Trains, Eversholt Rail and Porterbrook Leasing—were established at the time of privatisation. After a series of changes of ownership they were subsequently acquired by banks. The Royal Bank of Scotland acquired Angel Trains, HSBC acquired Eversholt Rail and Abbey National (subsequently Santander) acquired Porterbrook Leasing. The companies were later sold by the banks to various investors between 2008 and 2010. Since the disposal of the ROSCOs by their bank owners, and with other rolling stock lessors and financiers entering the market, passenger rolling stock lessors have typically financed the purchase of rolling stock from the wider debt and capital markets. This Practice Note outlines some of the key risks that a financier will take into account when considering whether to provide financing for the acquisition of new UK passenger rolling stock. For the purposes of this Practice Note, it is assumed that:

Once a rolling stock lessor has taken delivery of rolling stock from the manufacturer, its priorities will be to: • lease it to an operator (in order to generate income and thereby recover the cost of its investment in that rolling stock), and • ensure that arrangements are in place for that rolling stock to be properly maintained (to preserve its value and ensure its marketability for re-leasing upon termination or expiry of the initial lease) This Practice Note outlines the types of operating lease typically considered by a lessor for leasing passenger rolling stock to an operator in the UK. It also outlines the different types of maintenance arrangements that might be put in place in respect of that rolling stock. Consistent with market practice for the procurement and leasing of the majority of passenger rolling stock in the UK, this Practice Note assumes that the lessor is an operating lessor and will lease the rolling stock to an operator on an operating lease basis. Leasing arrangements Operating leases A lease agreement

New fleets of rolling stock for use in UK passenger operations are procured using a variety of different structures. The most straightforward structure involves an operating lessor purchasing a new fleet from a rolling stock manufacturer under a purchase agreement and leasing it to an operator. This Practice Note describes procurements using this structure. It is standard for purchase agreements for procurements using this structure to be tri-partite agreements to which not just the lessor and the manufacturer but also the operator are a party. While it is possible for a new fleet of rolling stock for use in UK passenger operations to be procured under a bi-partite purchase agreement between just the lessor and the manufacturer, this is rare. This Practice Note therefore focuses on tri-partite purchase agreements. After the expiry or earlier termination of the operating lease agreement with the initial operator, the rolling stock will be leased over the course of its operational life to other operators but references to the operator in this Practice Note are to the initial operator. Main

New fleets of rolling stock for use in UK passenger operations are procured using a variety of different structures. The most straightforward structure involves an operating lessor purchasing a new fleet from a rolling stock manufacturer under a purchase agreement and leasing it to an operator. For more information on such structures, see Practice Note: Rail finance—purchase agreements. This Practice Note describes the core provisions of a market standard purchase agreement, also commonly known as a manufacture and supply agreement or MSA. An overview of a purchase agreement The purchase agreement will typically be between the lessor, the manufacturer and the operator. The table below describes each party. Party Description Examples Lessor The party that purchases the rolling stock from the manufacturer and leases it to the operator • Angel Trains• Eversholt Rail• Porterbrook Leasing• Rock Rail Manufacturer The party that manufactures the rolling stock A group company of:• Alstom• CAF• Siemens• Hitachi Operator The party that leases the rolling stock from the lessor and operates it in passenger revenue earning service A

As an alternative to rolling stock being maintained by a maintenance provider pursuant to a train services agreement (TSA), an operator may choose to maintain the rolling stock itself or to procure that a third party maintains it pursuant to an existing maintenance agreement. For further information on TSAs, see Practice Note: Rail finance—train services agreements. If the Operator chooses to maintain the rolling stock itself, it may require certain technical support from the original manufacturer of the rolling stock or another supplier in order to undertake that maintenance. In these circumstances, the operator might choose to enter into a technical support and spares supply agreement (TSSSA). This Practice Note outlines the core provisions of a typical TSSSA. Parties to a TSSSA A TSSSA is usually a bi-partite arrangement between a supplier and the operator and because of the nature of the services to be supplied under a TSSSA, the supplier is likely to be the original manufacturer of the rolling stock. The core provisions of

Once a rolling stock lessor has taken delivery of rolling stock from the manufacturer, maintenance arrangements will be put in place to ensure that the rolling stock is properly maintained. The maintenance arrangements used will depend on a number of factors, although one of the more common maintenance arrangements for new rolling stock used in the UK passenger operations is a train services agreement (TSA). For more information on the various maintenance options, see Practice Note: Rail finance—leasing and maintenance arrangements. This Practice Note outlines the core provisions of a typical TSA. Parties to a TSA A TSA is usually a bi-partite arrangement between a maintenance provider (usually the manufacturer of the rolling stock or one of its affiliates) and the operator. Occasionally, the lessor may also be a party to a tri-partite TSA. The core provisions of a TSA Services The maintenance provider will be required to provide a variety of different services and it is usual for a TSA to distinguish between 'standard services' and 'additional services'. Standard

The UK rail network is the oldest in the world with over 1.7 billion people currently using the railways as a means of transport and over 17 billion tonne kilometres of freight being transported by rail every year. Following the privatisation of British Rail in the 1990s, the UK’s rail infrastructure sector has developed into a multifaceted regime combining public ownership with private sector delivery. Network Rail owns and operates the mainline network, regulated by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) and guided by strategic policy from the Department for Transport (DfT). In May 2021 the UK Government published the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, which is intended to be the basis of extensive reform of the British railway. A new body, Great British Railways Transition Team, has been created to establish interim arrangements and support the creation of Great British Railways (GBR) that would be the ‘single guiding-mind’ for the railway. The functions of Network Rail would be absorbed by GBR. Rail infrastructure therefore remains an area of investment and growth.

Pensions analysis: The Court of Appeal was asked to construe the deficit repair rule (‘Rule 21’) in the Atos Section of the Railways Pension Scheme (‘RPS’) and its interaction with Article 7 of the Railway Pensions (Protection and Designation of Schemes) Order (respectively, ‘Article 7’ and ‘the Protection Order’). Affirming the Chancellor’s decision at first instance, the court held that Rule 21 did not create an exhaustive regime for the elimination of shortfall in the Atos Section, and that it was supplemented insofar as necessary by Article 7, which imposed additional contribution obligations on the Atos Section’s sponsoring and participating employers (‘the Employers’). The decision is the latest in a recent line of cases illustrating how the principles of construction set out in Barnardo’s v Buckinghamshire and Britvic plc v Britvic Pensions Ltd are to be applied in interpreting the provisions of a pension scheme. Written by Henry Day, barrister at Radcliffe Chambers.

Rainbow Migration has published a statement addressing the recent BBC investigation into regulated and unregulated immigration advisers allegedly helping people fabricate LGBTQI+ asylum claims. It emphasises that the misconduct of a few bad-faith actors does not reflect the reality of LGBTQI+ asylum seekers. The statement highlights that nearly 70 countries criminalise same-sex relationships (with some imposing the death penalty). It recounts personal experiences of abuse and harassment against LGBTQI+ asylum seekers. The statement emphasis that LGBTQI+ claims are complex and are evaluated within a hostile system forcing LGBTQI+ individuals to prove their sexual orientation or gender identity under dangerous conditions to complete strangers, an issue worsened by government cuts to legal aid. The statement indicates that the government's recent data revealed that only 2% of asylum claims cite sexual orientation as a reason for needing protection, so there is no evidence of systemic abuse.

In England and Wales the term used would be issuing, ie in a Scottish context an initial writ (petition) is raised with the court.