In the Spring Statement 2025 on 26 March 2025, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, made several announcements relevant to criminal justice, including plans to increase the number of prosecutions for tax fraud, to launch a scheme to reward informants of tax non-compliance and to tackle tax evasion by ‘phoenixism’. Plans to further tackle fraud and error in the welfare system and to implement measures to assist with the recovery of public funds lost to fraudulent coronavirus (COVID-19) activities were also announced.

Banking & Finance analysis: Fraud, money laundering, hacking, cyber attacks and bribery are key parts of the modern tool kit for financial criminals. The volatility and uncertainty characteristic of economic crises, such as the current coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, provide fertile ground for these crimes. On a recent PRIMEtime Virtual Event, Gay Huey Evans OBE, P.R.I.M.E. Finance expert, chair of the London Metal Exchange in December 2019 and an independent non-executive director of Standard Chartered plc (where she is chair of the Board Committee on Financial Crime and serves as a member of the Board Risk Committee), identified financial crime as a significant risk which is heightened by the current crisis.

Arbitration analysis: The Court of Appeal in Bath Racecourse Company Ltd and others v Liberty Mutual Insurance Europe SE and others upheld the Commercial Court’s interpretation of composite business interruption policies, confirming that each insured benefits from a separate indemnity limit. It also confirmed that furlough payments under the CJRS must be deducted as savings. This decision has wide implications for coronavirus (COVID-19) BI claims, and permission has been granted to the Supreme Court (UKSC/2025/0068) on the furlough deduction issue, which may impact the outcome of thousands of claims. Written by Tatiana Minaeva, independent counsel and Arbitrator.

Restructuring & Insolvency analysis: The court imposed a seven-year disqualification order on the defendant on the basis that payments to a connected company were: (i) gratuitous payments to the detriment of the Company’s general body of creditors at a time when the Company was insolvent and the defendant knew or ought to have known that it had no real prospect of success, and (ii) involved the use of funds borrowed under a Bounce Back Loan (BBL) and a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan (CBIL) in breach of the loan agreements. Written by Giselle McGowan, barrister at 9 Stone Buildings.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has stated that, according to a forecast based on a City Hall analysis of information provided by Savills, rents in London could increase by up to 19% over the next five years, which amounts to, on average, £370 extra per month. To avoid this, Khan has emphasised the importance of the government giving him powers to introduce rent controls in London and set up the London Private Rent Commission which would be responsible for designing and implementing the rent controls. In addition, he has called for powers to freeze private rents in order to protect renters from the ongoing financial impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The EU has launched a new plan for preventing, preparing for and responding to health crises. It is intended to improve coordinated action during emergencies by providing tools for sharing information, expertise and technical assistance. The plan covers all types of health threats and sets out the EU’s crisis management framework, including available resources and surveillance systems. Drawing on lessons from coronavirus (COVID-19), the plan requires Member States to develop national crisis strategies aligned with EU structures. It will be updated regularly and tested through simulation exercises, with the first scheduled for 2026.

The Insolvency Service has reported that Artwork Holdings Ltd, formerly Yield Gallery Limited, has been wound up by the High Court following an investigation that began in October 2023. The company, which operated two London galleries claiming to sell works by prominent artists, was found to have provided conflicting accounts of its trading status, maintained inaccurate financial records showing £4.2m in sales but only £2m in bank deposits, and potentially underpaid VAT and corporation tax. Investigators also found the company had improperly obtained a £50,000 coronavirus bounce back loan and failed to register as an art market participant under money laundering regulations. The Official Receiver has been appointed as the liquidator.

The Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee has published a report examining housing conditions in the social rented sector. The report reveals that progress in improving the quality of social housing has largely stalled since the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, leaving many tenants living in substandard homes. The Committee recommends establishing a new Decent Homes Programme that incorporates pooled funding and a unified housing quality framework for social landlords. Additionally, the report calls for the urgent publication of timelines to extend Awaab's Law to all hazards and advocates for regular ten-year reviews of housing standards.

Dispute Resolution analysis: The High Court, in United Technology Holdings Ltd v Chaffe and others and Jackson v Hayes and Jarvis (Travel) Ltd, confirmed that witnesses must attend trial in person in the absence of good reasons to the contrary. The courts ruled against remote attendance for witnesses and parties not living in the jurisdiction or facing difficulties travelling to England during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, as the default position is that hearings should take place in the court ‘unless there are good health‑related reasons’ not to. If there are, these should be detailed in evidence by provision of a witness statement. Written by Westley Walker, senior associate, at Bristows LLP.

The Insolvency Service has reported that Jagoda Rubaszko has been convicted for fraudulently obtaining a £50,000 coronavirus bounce back loan (BBL). Rubaszko received an 18-month suspended prison sentence after falsely claiming to operate an administrative service business with a £210,000 turnover while the funds were being transferred to five separate Polish bank accounts. The sentence includes a six-month curfew and 175 hours of unpaid work. The Insolvency Service is pursuing recovery under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and Rubaszko remains subject to a ten-year bankruptcy restrictions undertaking until 2033.

The Insolvency Service has reported that Stanislav Genadiev, an electrician, fraudulently used coronavirus (COVID-19) Bounce Back Loans (BBL) to pay off personal debts. The two loans were worth a combined amount of £100,000 and were supposed to be used solely for the benefit of his business. The money was also used to pay for personal items such as groceries and clothing. Genadiev has been ordered to pay £56,000 within three months or he faces a prison sentence of 18 months. The amount will still be payable regardless of whether he goes to prison for the offence.

Arbitration analysis: Starting in 2020, the world took a new approach to work due to the coronavirus (COVID 19) pandemic. Despite the inability to meet in person, work needed to continue, and this included arbitration hearings. This led to the heavy adoption of virtual meeting rooms and has had a significant impact on the way that arbitrations are conducted. The legal community is still learning how to deal with the impacts of switching to a virtual environment, a trend that has continued since COVID 19 due to its convenience. Amber Barto, summer intern at P.R.I.M.E. Finance explores the implications of virtual arbitration.