Criminal Litigation

Corruption

The decision by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to discontinue its investigation into the BAE Al Yamamah agreement has provoked strong reaction from many, including the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and the US Department of Justice (DoJ).  Corruption is clearly a hot topic in this current age with the risk of investigations and prosecution of individuals and companies increasing.

Our team is extremely experienced in defending domestic corruption inquiries, whether acting for individual agents, contractors or corporations.  Increasingly, we are seeing that corruption inquiries are also taking on an international dimension partly as a result of the changes to the law brought about by the Criminal Justice (Terrorism and Conspiracy) Act 1998 and the Anti Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 and the trend for the US to use the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) to pursue individuals and corporations throughout the world.  Conspiracies to corrupt overseas can now be tried in English criminal courts provided certain conditions are satisfied.  The UK also now has extra-territorial powers to prosecute corruption offences if a UK national or company acts outside the UK in such a way that it would constitute an offence if they had so acted in the UK.  We represent individuals and companies who have been caught up in these investigations either as a suspect or witness.

In order to protect corporations and individuals, it is essential for companies to have robust corporate governance. We are able to provide due diligence and risk management advice to corporations and individuals involved in contracts and making payments abroad, and specifically to those working in countries which score poorly in the corruption perceptions index, as collated by Transparency International.  

Primary contact  Stephen Parkinson

Notable cases

• Cash for peerages 
• The SFO investigation into the BAE/Al Yamamah deal
• The Jubilee Line trial
• The Statoil case