US President Donald Trump has filed a $5 billion lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase & Co. and its chief executive Jamie Dimon, alleging that the bank unlawfully closed his personal and business accounts for political reasons. The claim, filed in Florida, is the latest high-profile example of alleged “de-banking” and comes amid growing political and regulatory … Continued

Caroline Black, Consultant at Gherson Solicitors LLP, has been quoted in a recent legal analysis exploring how the UK regulator may increasingly use publicity as part of its enforcement toolkit. The article considers a recent High Court judgment which has clarified how the FCA may rely on “exceptional circumstances” where there is concern about misleading … Continued

Caroline Black, Consultant at Gherson Solicitors, has been featured in Compliance Week commenting on the UK Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) updated guidance on how it evaluates corporate compliance programmes. The article, “SFO guidance on evaluating compliance programs short on specifics, experts say”, examines the SFO’s recently published guidance and the concerns raised by practitioners that … Continued

As we have analysed previously, the UK crypto regulatory landscape has been in a state of flux for some time. Some stability, however, is finally on the horizon. On 29 April 2025, the Chancellor introduced much-needed draft legislation for the regulation of cryptoassets. In December 2025, the Government laid The Financial Services and Markets Act … Continued

A significant development in civil recovery, victim compensation and limitation principles 8 January 2026 Executive Summary The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has announced the return of more than £400,000 to victims of a global email fraud, almost 24 years after the offences were committed. The recovery was achieved without a criminal conviction, through a novel use of civil recovery … Continued

Caroline Black, Consultant at Gherson LLP, commented in a recent Law360 UK article on expectations of significant growth in fraud and other financial crime in 2026. The article reports that online misconduct continues to outpace the FCA’s enforcement capacity, particularly in crypto-assets and unauthorised investment promotions. Commenting on the regulator’s response, Caroline Black noted that … Continued

Nearly 500,000 bank accounts were closed in 2025. We explain, why de-banking is on the rise, what new rules are being rolled out, and how to challenge unfair account closures. Throughout 2024 and 2025, we wrote extensively about de-banking,  including “What are the proposed new laws aimed at preventing de-banking?” and “Why the proposed new … Continued

Throughout the course of the year, we were increasingly approached by individuals who believed that incorrect information about them displayed on compliance databases was having a detrimental impact on them – whether by unduly harming their reputation and/or preventing their ability to access banking facilities and financial products. This type of incorrect information can stem … Continued

Throughout 2024, and following several high-profile “de-banking” cases, we published a number of blogs, including “What are the proposed new laws aimed at preventing de-banking?” and “Why the proposed new laws to try and prevent de-banking do not go far enough”. Unfortunately, throughout 2025, we continued to be approached by individuals who felt that they … Continued

Throughout 2025, we were increasingly approached by individuals who have been adversely affected by a CIFAS marker in circumstances where they are adamant that there had been no wrongdoing or breach of their bank’s Terms and Conditions. In many of these cases, the financial institutions concerned had also closed the individual’s bank account(s). Individuals in … Continued

There are few legal occurrences as disruptive and unsettling as a dawn raid. A dawn raid is an unannounced search of your home or business by law enforcement or regulatory authorities who are collecting evidence of suspected financial or economic crime, fraud, tax evasion, breach of competition or other types of crime. In the last … Continued

The UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has released new guidance on when and how it evaluates corporate compliance programmes, with particular focus on the offences of Failure to Prevent Bribery (FtPB) under the Bribery Act 2010 (Section 7) and Failure to Prevent Fraud (FtPF) under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (s199) (ECCTA). … Continued