Offence of failure to prevent bribery under the Bribery Act

The proposal by the Government for new legislation and offence of failure to prevent.

“The introduction of an offence of failure to prevent bribery under the Bribery Act led to a significant shift in the way that businesses approached anti-bribery and corruption and it would be expected that the introduction of a broader offence of failure to prevent corporate crime, such as fraud, would have a similarly beneficial effect.”

John Whittaker, a partner at Clyde & Co, a City firm, predicted that the prospect of corporate liability “will prove a major incentive in implementing strong anti-money laundering procedures”.

He added: “The cost of those procedures will be borne by commerce and the outcome will be that many companies will need to spend significant funds in preventative measures even where perfectly legitimate funds are not linked to any criminal activity.”

There was also concern at the government’s proposal to remove the existing suspicious activity report consent regime. Mr Whittaker described the scheme as a “source of comfort to many companies seeking to conduct legitimate business in difficult conditions”