Insights: Legal Updates - April 2019

Cybersecurity blog Krebs On Security[1] recently broke the news of a sophisticated cyber attack carried out on Wipro, one of India’s largest IT outsourcing providers. The blog tastes that the attack appears to have been orchestrated over a number of months – although the exact period is disputed, with Wipro claiming the attack only lasted […]

Another outsourcer is reported to be facing problems, with reports in the media stating that Amey has been hit with a £48.5 million ‘penalty fine’ for failing to replace two sets of damaged roadside bollards.

For one UK ex-wife the dangers of commenting on social media have come home to roost. Laleh Shahravesh is facing jail in Dubai following her posted comments responding to her ex-husband’s post about his new wife on Facebook.

It was recently reported that the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has terminated an outsourcing contract with G4S. The termination of the 15-year contract, awarded to G4S in 2011, comes after the MOJ was forced to step-in and take over running the HMP Birmingham in August 2018 the prisons watchdog concluded that the prison was “exceptionally violent” and “fundamentally unsafe” with staff “living and working in fear”.

In a plot line worthy of a Dan Brown novel, the 30 year old CEO and founder of QuadrigaCX, Gerald Cotton, was reported as having died in India at the end of last year, seemingly having taken the passwords to the company’s cold storage wallets with him to his grave.

David Gauke the Justice Secretary has today pledged that the new divorce law, which will be based on “no fault”, will be introduced within three months.

Capital contributions can be a useful inducement to tenants but proper consideration of their impact is often missed in negotiations. It is important to identify the correct reason for the payment as this can affect the VAT treatment, whether the construction industry scheme (CIS) applies, whether capital allowances are applicable and the treatment of any works on rent review.

In January 2019, Singapore’s privacy regulator, the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC), published a Proposed Model Artificial Intelligence Governance Framework for public consultation. The PDPC recognises the many benefits of AI, but also calls out the emergence of concerns such as AI’s impact on personal privacy and algorithmic bias.