Cross-jurisdiction cooperation in the fight against international corruption and bribery is intensifying. The UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO), France’s National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF), and Switzerland’s Office of...more
It’s certainly true that the UK criminal authorities have been crying out for a shot in the arm in the form of legislative reform, but will changing the law really help the Serious Fraud Office ("SFO") achieve more corporate...more
A year and a half after the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 received Royal Assent, the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (Act) came into law on 26 October 2023. Although the Act does...more
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA) received Royal Assent and became law on 26 October 2023. It contains a new ‘failure to prevent fraud’ offence whereby large organisations will be held criminally...more
The long-awaited Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act received Royal Assent on 26 October. This represents a significant turning point for the law on corporate criminal liability in the UK, and has been welcomed by...more
The Situation: After a year of debate, the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (the "Act") was passed into law on 26 October 2023....more
Headlines- • The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (the “Act”) is part of a wide legislative package to prevent abuse of UK corporate structures and tackle economic crime and received Royal Assent on 26 October...more
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 was granted Royal Assent on 26 October 2023. It contains a new ‘failure to prevent fraud’ corporate criminal offence which will render large companies liable for fraud...more
A draft ‘failure to prevent fraud’ corporate criminal offence will render large companies liable for fraud committed by their associates. We consider the draft offence and implications for businesses....more
An amendment to the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (the Bill) has brought in the offense of failure to prevent fraud (Offense). Under the new Offense, an organization will be liable where a specified fraud...more
After several years of discussion and consultation, the UK Government now appears to be close to reforming the law on corporate criminal liability via the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill. These changes, if...more
On 11 April 2023, the UK Home Office tabled an amendment to the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (the Bill), which is currently making its way through the UK Parliament. The amendment introduces a much...more
In the House of Lords yesterday evening the Government confirmed that it intends to propose a new ‘failure to prevent’ corporate criminal offence to be inserted into the Economic Crime Bill. We consider the backdrop to this...more
While debate rumbles on over the extension of ‘failure to prevent’ offences into the broad spectrum of financial crime, including fraud and money laundering, some have called for their introduction into an altogether...more
The government published in May 2019 its responses to two Committee reports on financial crime. First, the House of Commons Treasury Committee on 8 March 2019, published its report on “Economic Crime – Anti-money laundering...more
Following mounting calls for reform of the UK's corporate criminal liability regime, the Government is expected to consult later this year on potential reforms, which are likely to include a new corporate offence of failing...more
On 6th December 2018, the trial of two Tesco executives accused of false accounting collapsed. The judge concluded that the SFO's evidence, taken at its highest, was such that a jury could not properly convict. The SFO...more
Shakespeare’s observation that the “past is prologue” certainly applies to corporate criminal liability in the UK and France, as these jurisdictions embrace with gusto corporate prosecutions akin to those pursued in the US...more
Since a 1971 dispute over the pricing of washing powder, English law has required that for acts to be attributable to a corporation they must represent the directing mind and will of that organisation. The “identification...more
Introduction - As part of a global crackdown on tax evasion, the Criminal Finances Act 2017 (the Act) introduced a new offence. From 30 September 2017, an organisation commits a criminal offence if an employee or...more