Flawed white collar justice: no wonder the world’s financial miscreants want their cases heard in the UK, says ALEX BRUMMER
The wheels of financial justice turn slowly in Britain and successful and lasting convictions are very rare.
High-ranking defendants to be cleared of wrongdoing include former Barclays chief executive John Varley over payments made to Middle East potentates during the financial crisis. Tesco managers walked free after a black hole opened in the supermarket’s accounts.
So it is naturally satisfying for the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), with its long mixed record, when it wins a conviction for business figures discovered to have their hands in the till.
The SFO announces the conviction of former London Capital & Finance (LCF) CEO Michael Thomson.
Exonerated: Former Barclays CEO John Varley (pictured) has been cleared of payments to Middle East potentates during the financial crisis
As part of the investigation into suspected fraud and money laundering at LCF, Thomson’s assets were frozen.
This did not stop him from hiding £95,000 after an order was later issued to spend part of it on a holiday in Italy and a spa. He has been sentenced to ten months in prison for his dishonesty. It doesn’t hurt, since it’s been suspended for two years.
The lightness of convictions and the difficulty of winning convictions for fraud due to judges’ shyness, botched SFO prosecutions and juries cheated by complexity and a misguided British sense of justice are some of the reasons why financial villains want cases in the UK.
The NatWest Three, who ended up in US prisons after convictions for the 2002 collapse of US energy giant Enron, still feel sad.
It is not surprising that the billionaire founder of tech company Autonomy, Mike Lynch, has fought so hard to avoid extradition to the US, where he could face up to 20 years in prison for allegedly cheating US computer giant Hewlett Packard for an £8 dud. .8 billion sold.
Much of the focus of this case has been on the legal finesse of asymmetric extradition laws between the US and UK, with Lynch walking away in handcuffs but American Anne Sacoolas walking free despite a 2022 conviction for killing 19-year-old Harry Dunn by dangerous driving.
The comparison is ridiculous because the circumstances are so different. Lynch’s battle had little to do with the intricacies of the law and much more with the recognition of what could happen if U.S. authorities, who have a dim view of those who mess with investor money, took him to court . justice.
The outcome of a Lynch trial is, of course, unknown. The omens for the alleged fraudster do not look promising.
In 2022, Hewlett Packard won a six-year civil fraud case against Lynch in the UK courts after a Supreme Court judge ruled that he defrauded the US buyer by manipulating Autonomy’s accounts.
Sushovan Hussain, Lynch’s former associate at Autonomy, was sentenced to five years in prison in 2019 and fined heavily on 16 counts.
The idea that Lynch could avoid extradition on technical-legal grounds when his colleague paid a high price for similar alleged wrongdoings is disturbing on moral grounds.
Hewlett Packard shareholders and executives were victims of the alleged fraud.
Since the company is based in the US and most of the victims are based there, it is only right that he should face trial in California. Thank goodness Americans don’t consider white-collar crime minor offenses.
To work
The departure of trainer champion JD Sports’ larger-than-life CEO Peter Cowgill was viewed with fear by some investors.
Despite his managerial shortcomings, he performed well. Shareholders need not worry.
The hold that fashionable trainers, lycra and hoodies have on young shoppers cannot be underestimated.
Outside of the grocery sector, Britain has very few £1 billion a year retailers. This was a goal Stuart Rose recaptured at Marks & Spencer in 2008. JD Sports and its largest investors, the Rubin family, are on their way to an exclusive club.
Lubricated lightning
Labour, the Lib Dems and climate change activists broadly view big oil as the devil incarnate and have engaged in greenwashing.
At a time when the shortcomings in battery production in the UK are all too apparent, BP is committing to biofuels, using waste from feedstock producers to build five biofuel plants by 2030.
These will play a central role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Credit where credit is due.