header-logo header-logo

Crime brief: 23 May 2025

219528
In two places at once? David Walbank KC considers requests for extradition & the double criminality rule
  • US indictment for insider dealing.
  • Conduct in UK.
  • Double criminality rule.

The Supreme Court has recently re-examined the double criminality rule in a judgment that is reckoned to have caused consternation within the US Department of Justice: El-Khouri v Government of the United States of America [2025] UKSC 3.

The facts of the case

Joseph El-Khouri was a dual United Kingdom/Lebanese national resident in the UK. He was suspected of insider dealing. The Financial Conduct Authority had conducted a criminal investigation, but decided there was insufficient evidence to charge. However, US prosecutors took a different view. A New York grand jury returned an indictment charging Mr El-Khouri with 17 offences, including securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy, and a request was made for his extradition to the US.

The facts alleged in the extradition request were that he had solicited ‘material non-public information’ in respect of ongoing negotiations for mergers and acquisitions involving a number of companies

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Muckle LLP—Stacey Brown

Muckle LLP—Stacey Brown

Corporate governance and company law specialist joins the team

Excello Law—Heather Horsewood & Darren Barwick

Excello Law—Heather Horsewood & Darren Barwick

North west team expands with senior private client and property hires

Ward Hadaway—Paul Wigham

Ward Hadaway—Paul Wigham

Firm boosts corporate team in Newcastle to support high-growth technology businesses

NEWS

NOTICE UNDER THE TRUSTEE ACT 1925

HERBERT SMITH STAFF PENSION SCHEME (THE “SCHEME”)

NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND BENEFICIARIES UNDER SECTION 27 OF THE TRUSTEE ACT 1925
Law firm HFW is offering clients lawyers on call for dawn raids, sanctions issues and other regulatory emergencies
From gender-critical speech to notice periods and incapability dismissals, employment law continues to turn on fine distinctions. In his latest employment law brief for NLJ, Ian Smith of Norwich Law School reviews a cluster of recent decisions, led by Bailey v Stonewall, where the Court of Appeal clarified the limits of third-party liability under the Equality Act
Non-molestation orders are meant to be the frontline defence against domestic abuse, yet their enforcement often falls short. Writing in NLJ this week, Jeni Kavanagh, Jessica Mortimer and Oliver Kavanagh analyse why the criminalisation of breach has failed to deliver consistent protection
Assisted dying remains one of the most fraught fault lines in English law, where compassion and criminal liability sit uncomfortably close. Writing in NLJ this week, Julie Gowland and Barny Croft of Birketts examine how acts motivated by care—booking travel, completing paperwork, or offering emotional support—can still fall within the wide reach of the Suicide Act 1961
back-to-top-scroll