A look at the most read stories on eprivateclient this week...
Monday
International law firm Stephenson Harwood bolstered its private wealth offering with the lateral hire of Jonathan Conder from Macfarlanes. Mr Conder - who was named as an eprivateclient 50 Most Influential between 2014 and 2017 – had spent the past 30 years at Macfarlanes, including the last 25 years as a partner and was formerly head of the firm's private wealth practice.
A company which has “aggressively promoted tax avoidance schemes in the UK for years” was fined £150,000 for failing to provide HMRC with legally required information. AML Tax (UK) Limited, directed by Arthur Lancaster and part of Doug Barrowman’s Isle of Man based Knox Group, was fined £150,000 after HMRC brought an Upper Tribunal case over the firm’s failure to comply with formal information notices as part of a tax investigation.
Tuesday
Offshore law firm Walkers hired Helen Munro as a senior counsel in its Jersey office. Ms Munro is a specialist in Islamic finance, having spent the last 11 years practising in the Abu Dhabi office of international law firm Dentons. Ms Munro is the fourth new hire for Walkers in the last six months. Her arrival further strengthens the firm’s Jersey office, which is led by partners Nigel Weston and Alexandra Corner, and group partners Jon Le Rossignol and Tristan Maultby.
The UK government announced that it has suspended the exchange and sharing of tax information with Russia and Belarus as part of continued efforts to “inflict economic pain” on President Putin’s regime. The UK had exchanged tax information with Russia under the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters and Russia and Belarus under bilateral Double Tax Agreements.
Wednesday
London law firm Forsters added Julia Tobbell as a partner within its property litigation practice. She has joined from Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF). Ms Tobbell's practice is focused on advising developers and investors on high profile and complex disputes concerning trophy assets and valuable portfolios.
Independent specialist (re)insurance broker Miller launched an online private clients platform, aimed at providing digital solutions for clients in the high-net-worth space. The online system is the first broker offering of its type in the market and will initially focus on buildings and contents insurance. The initial launch provides a foundation for further rollout, with plans to offer additional products on the platform throughout the year.
Thursday
UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak delivered his Spring Statement and – despite a headline grabbing pledge to cut the basic rate of income tax next year and increase the National Insurance threshold– there were few announcements that would cause immediate concern amongst the private wealth sector.
Maurice Turnor Gardner's senior partner Clare Maurice and Mandy Langmead, the head of fiduciary management for Butterfield’s trust operations in Guernsey, were appointed as directors of the board of Butterfield Trust (Guernsey) Limited. The appointments were effective from 8 March 2022, following the approval of the Guernsey Financial Services Commission.
Friday
Jersey-headquartered trust and family office services provider Highvern appointed Anna Malorey as its new chief operating officer. A chartered accountant by training, Ms Malorey was previously head of operations at both R&H Trust Co (Jersey) Limited and Ocorian before joining Highvern.
Rival fiduciary services provider Hawksford also announced a senior hire with Sowmitra Singh appointed into the new role of M&A director. Mr Singh has over 12 years of experience in business consulting and M&A advice having working for firms including Deloitte and EY, having most recently spent almost five years at the former.