INTRODUCTION Contributed by: Aziz Rahman, Rahman Ravelli Solicitors
White-Collar Crime: A General Overview We are delighted to present the sixth edition of the Chambers Global Practice Guide: White-Collar Crime. As ever, the legal landscape is evolving. Increased scrutiny of corporate behaviour, the introduction and enforcement of new legislation and the tightening of regulatory frameworks are all important issues that have to be responded to by those in business. It is important that corporates and individuals are properly equipped to navigate this terrain, and the 2025 Chambers White-Collar Crime Guide has been devised and written to help those in business achieve this. The Guide has compiled analysis and opinion from leading practitioners from around the world in order to provide informative and practical advice on the enforcement of the law in relation to white-collar crime, and insight in relation to possible future devel - opments. With white-collar crime becoming increasingly global, those in business and legal practitioners have to be aware of the many different systems of regulation and enforcement that are in place and in operation around the world. The legal expertise and experience of the contributors have been brought together in this Guide to enhance the ability to meet the challenges that arise as a result of this. Reading this guide makes it clear that no two coun - tries are identical when it comes to white-collar crime investigation and enforcement. There is never any guarantee that developments in one jurisdiction will be adopted in other countries, but there are some broad issues that can be identified as having an effect on a number of states. Expanding legal frameworks and enforcement tools One of the most notable aspects of the white-collar legal landscape in recent years has been how the law has developed to stay abreast of business crime. Many countries have been looking to introduce new laws – and sometimes change and extend the scope of existing ones – to address issues as they arise.
To take just one example, the UK passed the Eco - nomic Crime & Corporate Transparency Act 2023. This has reformed corporate criminal liability in an attempt to target bad conduct and make it easier for agencies such as the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to pursue those companies it believes are responsible for wrongdoing. The Act also created the offence of failure to prevent fraud – an offence that came into effect on 1 September 2025 –and introduced meas - ures relating to Companies House reform, crypto- assets and money laundering. This situation is far from unique. To take another example, French authorities have been placing greater emphasis on tackling environmental offences, with the first criminal case being brought in relation to green - washing allegations in 2023. Global investigations In the UK, there currently seems to be a drop in the number of major global investigations. Although this has been the trend in recent years, it is hard to predict with any real accuracy what factors might affect the likelihood of future investigations. There is no guaran - tee that this is a situation that will continue. One factor that could prove significant, however, regarding the number of major investigations is the course that Nick Ephgrave has steered since becom - ing Director of the SFO in September 2023. To cite just some examples, the year 2024–25 saw the SFO open eight new investigations, conduct four major executive action operations, create an international anti-corruption prosecutorial taskforce and push for the paying of whistle-blowers. The SFO seems to have gained new momentum and made increased efforts to attract and retain the best talent. It has also been boosted by the aforementioned Economic Crime & Corporate Transparency Act, which gives the agency strengthened pre-investigation pow - ers. The rise of aggressive sanctions regimes The increasing use of sanctions has been a response adopted by many countries to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. This has placed many new obligations on
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