Practical Law

2017 was, once again, a very busy year in the business crime world. It was a year when Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) came of age, when the boundaries of legal professional privilege narrowed, when the scope of failure to prevent offences was expanded to tax offences and threatened to become even wider, when one of … Continue reading 2017 – the year in Business Crime →

In a surprising Supreme Court judgment concerning a civil dispute over gambling winnings, the leading criminal case on dishonesty, R v Ghosh, was heavily criticised, deemed not to correctly represent the law and “judicial directions based upon it ought no longer to be given”. This judgment will impact on all future cases where dishonesty is … Continue reading Abandoning Ghosh – an important safeguard lost? →

Earlier this week, the National Crime Agency (NCA) published the Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) Annual Report for 2017, which covered 18 months between October 2015 and March 2017. SARS are received by the United Kingdom Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU). Unsurprisingly, UKFIU has continued to experience a year on year increase in the number of SARs … Continue reading Is the SARs Annual Report of any relevance? →

The criminal offence of failure to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion comes into force on 30 September 2017. The offence is the second “failure to prevent” offence, although a consultation on further offences was launched in early 2017. The offence is similar to section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010, which introduced the corporate … Continue reading Failure to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion: can we expect many prosecutions? →

Last week saw the disturbing news from the National Crime Agency (NCA) that the criminal offences of modern slavery and human trafficking are far more prevalent in the UK than previously thought. On 10 August the NCA released figures showing there are currently more than 300 live policing operations targeting modern slavery in the UK, … Continue reading Tackling modern slavery →

This week saw the publication of two reports: a joint report from HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and HM Inspector of Constabulary, and The Mouncher Investigation Report by Richard Horwell QC, both highly critical of the way the police and the CPS handle disclosure, and calling for significant change. Many criminal practitioners will feel a strong sense … Continue reading Disclosure – can we avoid another critical report in a few years’ time? →

Somewhat discreetly, as reported in CivilServiceWorld, the government has suggested that its plan to abolish the Serious Fraud Office has been put on hold. The 2017 Conservative manifesto committed to disbanding the SFO and incorporating its responsibilities into the National Crime Agency.  This was a decision not well received by practically every practitioner and commentator, … Continue reading SFO saved, for now or for the foreseeable future? →

The Conservative Party has published its 2017 Manifesto, entitled “Forward together: Our plan for a stronger Britain and a prosperous future”. The manifesto includes a commitment to strengthen Britain’s response to white collar crime by incorporating the Serious Fraud Office into the National Crime Agency, improving intelligence sharing and bolstering the investigation of serious fraud, … Continue reading Ten reasons to save the Serious Fraud Office →

An announcement that the CPS will not be bringing a prosecution rarely makes front page news. On 10 May 2017, the news that no charges would be brought following a high profile police investigation into allegations concerning the expenditure of Conservative Party candidates during the 2015 General Election campaign did just that. The allegations were … Continue reading The Representation of the People Act 1983: time for reform? →

In criminal law, the law surrounding the concept of dishonesty, an element in many charges, has been largely settled since 1982, by the famous judgement of Lord Lane in R v Ghosh, requiring both proof of subjective and objective dishonesty. The issue has been less clear in regulatory cases, and was seemingly turned on its … Continue reading Dishonesty means dishonesty →

The Education Act 1996 is a wide ranging piece of legislation, much of which is now repealed, comprising of 583 sections and an additional 40 schedules. Those involved in drafting the Act, more than 20 years ago, probably did not expect that in the future a Supreme Court of England and Wales would need to … Continue reading The uncertainty of regularity →

The Treasury has unveiled plans to create a new watchdog that will tackle potential weaknesses in the anti-money laundering supervisory system. The new Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision (OPBAS) will seek to improve the overall standards of supervision and ensure supervisors and law enforcement work together more effectively. The news that HM Government … Continue reading The Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision (OPBAS): a welcome development →

A surprising theft conviction was reported in the media this week, when a 23 year old woman was convicted of theft after keeping a £20 note she found in a shop in Blurton, Staffordshire.  Three months after picking up the money, the woman was contacted by the police and asked to attend a voluntary police … Continue reading A score for the police? →

The time spent discussing and commenting on the future of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is extensive. No other investigation or prosecution agency seems to attract the same level of speculation as to what it should do, how successful it should be, who should superintend it, how much money it should receive and whether it … Continue reading The Serious Fraud Office at 30: time to settle the debate on both its funding and future →

In January 2017, HM Government opened a call for evidence on the reform of corporate criminal liability. The main motivation for this being  the perception that it is too difficult to prosecute companies in England and Wales.

On 17 January 2017, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) enjoyed its best result since R v Hayes with the securing of a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with Rolls-Royce, the British aero-engineering company. After announcing the agreement in principle, approval was given at a hearing before Sir Brian Leveson QC, President of the Queen’s Bench Division. … Continue reading The Rolls-Royce DPA: an end to corporate prosecution? →

Although an individual’s views on 2016 are largely dependent on their view of two significant political events, several other events on their own are likely to cloud 2016. Adverts on the Underground invite you to “just forget 2016 ever happened”,  while many suggest “a 2016” will enter modern parlance to describe a bad year. In … Continue reading 2016 – the year in business crime →

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty was first published in the New Yorker in 1939. It tells the story of a nondescript individual who fantasises about being, variously, a US Navy pilot, a brilliant surgeon, an assassin, a Royal Air Force pilot on a suicide mission and, finally, facing a firing squad. The literary character … Continue reading Expose Walter Mitty, but do not prosecute him →

As the debate around Brexit rages, and the Supreme Court is set to hear arguments from both sides on whether the decision to trigger article 50 is for Parliament or the Prime Minister, the comments on detail progress.  Recent weeks have seen two of the UK’s leading prosecutors appearing before select committees to comment on the … Continue reading The impact of Brexit on business crime: part two →

The Criminal Finances Bill (CFB) was published on 13 October 2016. The CFB  contains four parts: part one amending and updating the provisions of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA), part two making similar updates to terrorist finance legislation, part three creating two new offences of failure to prevent tax evasion, and part four … Continue reading The Criminal Finances Bill – overloading the statute book? →

The past week has seen the slow release of numerous allegations of improper conduct in football, which has resulted in sackings, calls for further investigation and the resignation of the England Manager, Sam Allardyce after one game in charge in what he described as “an error of judgement on my behalf“. Although the various allegations, … Continue reading The Beautiful game →

On the 15th September 2016, HM Treasury published a Consultation on the Fourth Money Laundering Directive, inviting views and evidence to inform government on the transposition of the directive into UK law. Relevant businesses and individuals in the UK are currently subject to the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 (3MLD) which seeks to mitigate the risks … Continue reading The consultation on the Fourth Money Laundering Directive →

The text of a speech given to the 34th Cambridge Symposium on Economic Crime at Jesus College, Cambridge by David Bacon, Senior Editor at Practical Law Business Crime and Investigations. 

By far the most high profile non-sporting incident to occur during the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil was an incident involving four swimmers from Team USA, the most high profile of whom was Ryan Lochte, the winner of twelve gold medals across four separate Olympic Games.

On 1 September 2016, the Thomson Reuters Legal Debate Series will contest the motion that the judiciary, not just parliament, must address breached election promises. This is an interesting motion with a number of sub-questions, primarily the extent to which promises and commitments made during the course of an election campaign can be enforced, and how … Continue reading Are breached election promises a matter for the judiciary? →

The House of Commons Home Affairs Committee has published a report on money laundering and the proceeds of crime. The report is brutal, making it clear the systems in place are not fit for purpose and radical reform is needed. The report made the following observations and recommendations:

Two significant cybercrime developments occurred this week. On 6 July 2016 the European Commission published the Directive on security of network and information systems. The Directive will enter into force in August 2016. Member States will have 21 months to transpose the Directive into their national laws and 6 months more to identify operators of … Continue reading A focus on cybercrime →

Just a few days have passed since the news of the outcome of the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU. The immediate political and economic effects are both significant and well documented, becoming one of the few topics of conversation at the current time. There is also a great deal of uncertainty while … Continue reading What does Brexit mean for business crime? →

On 11 February 2016 the Sentencing Council issued new draft guidelines concerning the reduction that should be applied to a sentence after a guilty plea. The new guideline is broadly designed to provide an incentive to defendants who are going to plead guilty to do so as early as possible in the court process, without … Continue reading The need for a properly informed guilty plea →

The Serious Fraud Office has been in the news this week after the publication of the HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate’s recent report, Inspection of the SFO’s governance arrangements. The report is considered in detail at Legal update, HMCPSI publishes Inspection of the Serious Fraud Office governance arrangements report. The headline of the report focuses … Continue reading Lies, damned lies and conviction rates →

In 2015, the government put on hold plans for a failure to prevent fraud offence, championed by the Serious Fraud Office, on the basis that sufficient legislation already existed to prosecute corporations for wrongdoing, and there had at the time been no prosecutions for an offence under section 7 of the Bribery Act, the failure … Continue reading The responsibility of banks to prevent fraud →

The global issues concerning false emission readings in motor cars widened this week, as a number of high profile motor car manufacturers were in the news.

On 30 November 2015, the Serious Fraud Office reached the first Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with ICBC Standard Bank Plc. The DPA is covered in detail in an earlier blog. This week, the DPA has come under some criticism and calls were made for the investigation to be reopened, according to reports. A former senior bank official in Tanzania … Continue reading Deferred prosecution agreements and third party litigation →

In February 2015, the Home Office launched a “call for information” on the Suspicious Activity Reports regime. The call recognised that the current system needed to be reviewed, and requested responses to a number of questions, including improved identification, information sharing, efficiency of reporting and consent and international best practice. In October 2015, the Home … Continue reading Is the SARs regime fit for purpose? →

Transparency International (TI) has published a report into corruption in sport. Although the main motivation for the report was the indictments in relation to current and former FIFA officials, there have been numerous reports of corruption in professional sport in recent times, including match fixing at the highest levels of tennis, the Formula 1 bribery … Continue reading Transparency International publishes Global Corruption Report on sport →

The Thomson Reuters legal debate series, featured a distinguished panel debating the motion “Do our laws keep London safe from terror?”. Supporting the motion were Adam Wagner, a barrister and author of Human Rights Blog, and Diane Abbott MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for International Development. Against the motion were Lord Blair, the former … Continue reading Legal debate series: “Do our laws keep London safe from terror?” →

The Sweett Group PLC, a construction and professional services company, has been sentenced at Southwark Crown Court today after earlier pleading guilty to a charge of failing to prevent an act of bribery intended to secure and retain a contract with Al Ain Ahlia Insurance Company (AAAI), contrary to section 7(1)(b) of the Bribery Act 2010. … Continue reading Sweett Group PLC sentenced after section 7 Bribery Act conviction →

Ryanair were in court this week to appeal two civil fines imposed  by the Home Office under a provision of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, which permits the Home Secretary to penalize airline and ship owners if individuals arrive at UK passport control barriers without correct identity documents.

The Attorney General, Jeremy Wright QC MP, has announced that the Director of the Serious Fraud Office, David Green CB QC, has had his contract extended for a period of two years. This means that he will be in post until at least 20 April 2018.

This week two defendants convicted of fraud offences by the Serious Fraud Office were sent back to prison to serve default sentences for failing to pay their confiscation orders. The two defendants were sentenced to six and three and a half years. The two were found guilty in February 2008 and received sentences of imprisonment. In … Continue reading Confiscation orders and sentences in default →

The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum took place at Davos in Switzerland between 20 and 23 January 2016. One of the central themes of Davos 2016 was the future of the internet. Whereas the meeting focused on the various opportunities of development, the challenges were similarly considered.

On 23 April 2015, the Financial Conduct Authority imposed a financial penalty of £226m on Deutsche Bank AG in accordance with section 206 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The penalty was imposed because of Deutsche Bank’s attempted manipulation of the IBOR rates, system and control failings and deficiencies in the way the … Continue reading The right to anonymity for individuals in corporate criminal cases →

The Volkswagen investigation continues (see previous blogs on 25 September and 4 November). Although no UK authority has publicly acknowledged an investigation, the Transport Select Committee have been taking a keen interest in the matter. Various individuals, including the Managing Director of Volkswagen Group UK, Paul Willis, gave evidence before the committee on 12 October … Continue reading Volkswagen: the Transport Select Committee →

On 10 December 2015, three former bankers at RBS and a financial broker were acquitted by a jury at Southwark Crown Court of a single count of conspiring to cheat HM Revenue and Customs. The acquittal enables the reporting of convictions of three traders in September 2015 who claimed to be active members of a … Continue reading HMRC’s crackdown on tax evasion →

Lord Justice Treacy provided the keynote address to the Criminal Law Review Conference on Thursday 3 December 2015. His address covered four themes: How the Sentencing Council contributes to justice reform and efficiency, through its work on allocation and guilty pleas. The new health and safety offences guidelines. An explanation of how the Sentencing Council … Continue reading Lord Justice Treacy: Keynote address to the Criminal Law Review Conference →

The African Development Bank Group, the group dedicated to sustainable economic development and social progress in its member countries, has reached a settlement with Hitachi Ltd over allegations of bribery. Hitachi previously agreed to pay $19m to settle charges brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in September 2015, considered in a earlier blog.

The joint head of bribery and corruption at the SFO, Ben Morgan, gave a speech to the Managing Risk and Mitigating Litigation Conference on 1 December 2015. The speech was timely: the previous day Lord Justice Leveson approved the UK’s first ever deferred prosecution agreement, between the SFO and ICBC Standard Bank plc. The subject … Continue reading A high bar for DPA suitability →

Transparency International have published a document entitled Don’t look, won’t find: Weaknesses in the supervision of the UK’s anti-money laundering rules. The document is very stark. It makes the following points: The system intended to prevent dirty money from entering the UK is failing. Billions of pounds of corrupt funds are pouring into the country … Continue reading Transparency International: the UK should consider replacing the existing patchwork and inconsistent structure of multiple AML supervisors with a single, well-resourced supervisor →

The Ministry of Justice has given the green light for an increase in the number of criminal cases held remotely, following the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement.

It has been a busy week for the Serious Fraud Office. On Monday, it was reported that the company Arriva could be subject to an investigation after incorrectly self-reporting figures on a deal to provide non-emergency patient transport in the Greater Manchester Area, earning £1.5m in incentive fees.

The Volkswagen investigation has widened after two developments this week. On 2 November 2015, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a second notice of violation to Volkswagen, alleging that the company developed and installed a defeat device in certain VW, Audi and Porsche diesel vehicles equipped with 3.0 liter engines that increases emissions … Continue reading Volkswagen: the investigation widens →

In a speech to the Annual Anti Bribery & Corruption Forum on 29th October, Ben Morgan, the Joint Head of Bribery and Corruption at the SFO, provided additional guidance as to what the SFO expects from companies “self reporting”, and also provided the strongest hint yet that organisations that did self report would not be … Continue reading Serious Fraud Office: further guidance on self reporting →

The Director of the Serious Fraud Office, David Green CB QC, appeared before the Culture, Media and Sports Select Committee on 26th October 2015. Mr Green provided evidence regarding the SFO’s involvement with the FIFA investigation. Reuters, UK fraud office receives new money laundering details in FIFA investigation. The Director’s Evidence In May 2015, the SFO … Continue reading Director of SFO: “we cannot touch FIFA with the Bribery Act as things stand” →

The 2015 Conservative Party manifesto contained a commitment “to tackle those cases where judges get it wrong, we will extend the scope of the unduly lenient scheme, so a wider range of sentences can be challenged”. In September 2015, the Attorney General, Jeremy Wright, stated “I am very much in favour of looking at an … Continue reading Unduly lenient sentences: to be extended to lesser offences? →

On 15th October 2015, the UK government published the first UK national risk assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing. The report expresses three concerns of the impact of money laundering in the UK: That much of the money laundered through the UK is the proceeds of overseas corruption, the effect of which creates political … Continue reading UK national risk assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing reveals significant intelligence gaps in relation to “high end” money laundering →

The executive director of Transparency International, Robert Barrington, expressed his concerns that extremist groups are using corrupt money laundered through the City of London to radicalize individuals at the London Fraud Forum’s annual conference. Mr Barrington suggested that the suspicious activity reporting system was not working effectively, and that a more global approach was required, … Continue reading Transparency International: extremist groups use money laundered through London to radicalise individuals →

In a case that demonstrates the scope of US extra-territorial jurisdiction, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Hitachi Ltd, a corporation based in Japan, with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) (see Practical Law practice note, The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Overview) by inaccurately recording improper payments to the ruling political party in South Africa … Continue reading SEC extra-territorial jurisdiction enables disposal of corruption case in South Africa →

Two individuals were sentenced on Friday for their involvement in the SFO’s Arck LPP investigation.  Arck LLP was described as an “elaborate scam” which defrauded investors, in some cases of life savings and pension funds. Two individuals plead guilty to charges under the Fraud Act 2006. A charge of forgery remains on file.

Since the previous blog post on the global investigation into Volkswagen, there have been a number of developments, including a change in CEO and a comment from the board that the blame rests on individuals: “the unlawful behaviour of engineers and technicians involved in engine development shocked Volkswagen”.

The Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) has confirmed the opening of criminal proceedings against the Sepp Blatter, the President of FIFA. Mr Blatter was questioned, and his office and FIFA headquarters were searched on 25th September 2015. Data was seized. The suspicions relate to criminal mismanagement and suspicion of mismanagement. The Attorney has provided particulars … Continue reading Criminal proceedings commenced against Sepp Blatter, President of FIFA in Switzerland →

The Volkswagen diesel emissions investigation continues to move rapidly. The US Environmental Protection Agency, has suggested Volkswagen could face penalties of up to $24 billion. Media has reported that the US Justice Department’s Environmental and Natural Resources Division has launched a criminal investigation (although this is not directly confirmed) and regulators in Europe, Canada and … Continue reading Volkswagen →

Two senior officials at the SFO gave speeches at the 33rd Cambridge Symposium on Economic Crime. The Director of the SFO, David Green CB QC provided an overview of the work of the SFO. Most of his speech covered well worn ground, but perhaps two substantive points emerged:

A number of former senior members of the CPS have expressed concerns that the organisation is in considerable difficulties: BBC, Is CPS on “brink of collapse”? 

FCA secures High Court Judgment awarding injunction and over £7 million in penalties against five defendants for market … This case marks the first time that the FCA has obtained a permanent injunction and financial penalties in relation to market abuse.

The 2014-15 report was published today.

The Bribery Act has now been in force for four years. Prosecutions have been limited, but as previous blogs have stated, this is not the whole story.

In a somewhat defensive statement, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirm that two defendants were acquitted by a jury after a prosecution under section 188 of the Enterprise Act 2002. (CMA statement following completion of criminal cartel prosecution – News stories – GOV.UK.)

Transparency International have published an interesting new report: Empowering the UK to recover corrupt assets: Unexplained Wealth Orders and other new approaches to illicit enrichment an… It addresses the ongoing problem of corrupt wealth being laundered through the UK.

The Directive will come into force on 26 June 2015.

One of the most high profile corruption investigation of all time kicked off yesterday, with arrest of several FIFA officials in Switzerland pursuant to a request from the US.

There were no surprises in the Queen’s speech yesterday, but some significant developments for the world of business crime.

Ben Morgan, the joint head of Bribery and Corruption at the Serious Fraud Office gave a speech to the Global Anti-Corruption and Compliance in Mining Conference on 20 May 2015. The speech did not make a radical departure from the public comments of other senior SFO officials, with a focus on co-operation and self reporting. … Continue reading SFO: “We will soon have convictions of major organisations under the Bribery Act” →

Firstly, the Financial Conduct Authority continue their run of successful insider dealing prosecutions under Operation Tabernula.