Blog
A nervous disposition
Daniel Staunton
15 January 2021
Corporate criminal liability reform – the pressure is on the Law Commission as MPs express their frustration at delay
The spectre of a failure to prevent economic crime offence for corporates once again received attention during a debate in parliament on 13 January 2021 as part of the consideration of the Financial Services Bill.
30 October 2020
Deferred Prosecution Agreements - New SFO Guidance
The SFO’s entered into its ninth deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) earlier today, this time reaching a resolution of bribery allegations with a company called Airline Services Limited. With other corporate cases still on its books, we can expect to see more DPAs as these cases work through the system. So, what does that mean for companies which might be caught up in an investigation?
26 October 2020
The SFO's confirmation of a DPA in principle with Airline Services Ltd illustrates the balance between confidentiality and transparency in the DPA process
In a press release dated 22 October 2020, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) announced that it had reached an agreement in principle regarding a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with Airline Services Ltd (ASL). This agreement is subject to approval from the Court, which will be sought from Mrs Justice May at a public hearing at Southwark Crown Court, sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice, on 30 October 2020. Subject to the approval, the SFO have stated that the DPA will conclude its investigation into ASL and its conduct.
11 August 2020
Will the Economic Crime Levy bring much needed investment in the fight against economic crime?
The Government announced its intention to introduce an Economic Crime Levy in the Budget 2020. This is designed to fund government action to tackle money laundering and help deliver the reforms committed to in the Economic Crime plan 2019-2020. It has since followed up on this - on 21 July - with the launch of a consultation as to how such a levy would operate.
20 September 2019
AML: HMRC flexes enforcement muscle to the tune of £7.8 million
In September 2019, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) published its list of businesses that have not complied with the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (MLR 2017) for the tax year 2019 to 2020. Within this, it revealed that it has fined Touma Foreign Exchange Ltd £7.8 million for a wide range of serious failures under the Money Laundering Regulations.
