"Rogers and Todorov: New UK law creates liability for gross human rights abuses", 26 Jul 2017

In April 2017, the United Kingdom enacted the Criminal Finances Act which has created substantial new scopes of liability for companies engaging in business abroad. Section 13 of the CFA expands the scope of the Proceeds of Crime Act to cover the international commission of gross human rights abuses [GHRA] against whistleblowers and human rights activists. This means that UK prosecutors can now use civil recovery procedures to freeze and then seize assets they allege are the products of GHRA... [C]urrent UK Minister of Security, Ben Wallace, said: “[i]n an increasingly competitive international marketplace, the UK simply cannot afford to be seen as a haven for dirty money.” [T]he...Act also creates strong implications for all companies or individuals doing business outside the UK, particularly in areas where human rights violations are commonplace. Under the Act, it is equally unlawful to engage in activity linked to GHRA as it is to engage in them, and this includes profiting from, or materially assisting, GHRA. This is combined with what appears to be strict a liability intent standard to create a potent area of vulnerability for companies. In purely legal terms, a company that unknowingly profits from goods tainted by GHRA is just as much a potential target for prosecutors as a dictator’s son....In the next post, we'll analyze the Criminal Finances Act’s definition of a “gross human rights abuse.”