On 9 July 2025, part 1 of the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, chaired by Sir Brian Leveson was published (the Report). Leveson was tasked by the UK Ministry of Justice with conducting a wide-ranging review of the...more
On April 24, 2025, the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) released new guidance to encourage companies to self-report suspected corporate wrongdoing. The guidance emphasises that prompt self-reporting combined with full...more
On 24 April 2025, the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) issued new guidance to encourage companies to self-report suspected corporate wrongdoing. The guidance states that self-reporting, combined with full cooperation with the...more
On 6 November 2024, the UK Government published the much-anticipated guidance on the new corporate offence of failure to prevent fraud (the “Guidance”). The failure to prevent fraud offence forms part of a huge shift in the...more
11/19/2024
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Governance ,
Criminal Liability ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Failure to Prevent ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Crimes ,
Fraud ,
New Guidance ,
Risk Assessment ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
UK ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
Nick Ephgrave QPM, the Director of the Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”), recently marked the end of his first year in office. Ephgrave has brought a renewed energy, sense of purpose and proactive approach to the SFO, opening six...more
10/9/2024
/ Bribery ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Liability ,
Federal Funding ,
Financial Crimes ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
UK ,
UK Bribery Act ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
Recent weeks have seen several notable developments in the UK criminal enforcement landscape...more
5/20/2024
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Liability ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Due Diligence ,
Fraud ,
Law Enforcement ,
Money Laundering ,
National Crime Agency (NCA) ,
New Guidance ,
Popular ,
Risk Assessment ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
Tax Evasion ,
UK
The Director of the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Nick Ephgrave QPM, delivered his maiden public speech on February, 13, 2024, closely followed by visits to key financial centres in the United States to meet with...more
2/28/2024
/ Bribery ,
Collaboration ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Financial Crimes ,
Fraud ,
Law Enforcement ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
UK
On 15 January 2024, legislation came into force that enhances the Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) compulsory information-gathering powers and streamlines the investigative process whilst imposing fresh obligations on companies...more
The new SFO Director, Nick Ephgrave QPM, marks his first 100 days in post this month after succeeding Lisa Osofsky in September 2023. Ephgrave has overseen a dynamic start to his tenure with the announcement of three new...more
2023 has been a year of change at the SFO with a new Director, enhanced investigatory powers and new statutory regime that will make it easier to prosecute corporate criminal offenders. Dropped investigations and acquittals...more
After a laborious passage through the United Kingdom Parliament, the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (the Act) received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023. The Director of the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) hailed...more
10/31/2023
/ Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Criminal Liability ,
Fraud ,
Money Laundering ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
Theft ,
UK ,
UK Companies Acts
Companies faced with the decision of whether to voluntarily self-report sanctions breaches to law enforcement or sanctions enforcement agencies in the UK and the US can take some measure of comfort from recent comments made...more
10/16/2023
/ Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
Good Faith ,
Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Sanction Violations ,
Self-Reporting ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK ,
Voluntary Disclosure
The UK Government yesterday introduced a new corporate “failure to prevent fraud” offence into draft legislation, the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (“the Bill”).
This is a significant development in UK...more
4/13/2023
/ Companies Act ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Enforcement ,
Financial Crimes ,
Fraud ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
UK ,
White Collar Crimes
On 28 March 2023, the UK Gambling Commission (the Commission) announced that three gambling businesses owned by William Hill Group would pay a total financial penalty of £19.2 million for social responsibility and anti-money...more
4/3/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Gambling ,
Gambling Acts ,
Licensing Rules ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
UK
Following recent media reports of raids conducted by the UK National Crime Agency (NCA) - including at domestic residences - as part of a Covid-linked fraud investigation, and visits by the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to...more
5/13/2022
/ Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Fraud ,
Government Investigations ,
Inspections ,
Interviews ,
Public Relations ,
Search Warrant ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
UK
On 25 November at a sentencing hearing at Southwark Crown Court, Alstom Network UK Limited (ANUK) – a subsidiary of French rail conglomerate Alstom – was fined £15m, plus £1.4m in costs, for conspiring to make corrupt...more
12/20/2019
/ Alstom ,
Bribery ,
Corporate Fines ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Internal Investigations ,
Jury Trial ,
Remediation ,
Risk Assessment ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
Subsidiaries ,
Suspensions & Debarments ,
UK
On 6 September 2018 the UK High Court handed down its judgment in the application for judicial review brought by KBR Inc. (“KBR”) against the Director of the Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”). ...more
Speaking at the 35th annual Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime, Robert Buckland QC MP, the Solicitor General for England and Wales, and David Green QC, Director of the SFO, addressed the question, “Preventing...more
9/20/2017
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Criminal Fines ,
Corporate Liability ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Financial Action Task Force ,
Financial Crimes ,
HM Treasury ,
Law Enforcement ,
Self-Reporting ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
UK
A common feature of corporate criminal disposal in the US for several decades, the use of corporate monitors in the UK in the same period has been, at best, sporadic. This was expected to change with the introduction of...more
This article considers the Law Society practice note on legal professional privilege (LPP) published on 23 February 2017, in the light of public statements by the UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) that companies under...more
On 10 April 2017, the Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (“DPA”) with Tesco Stores Limited (“Tesco Limited”), as part of which Tesco Limited will pay a £129 million financial penalty...more
On 17 January 2017, Sir Brian Leveson, the President of the Queen’s Bench Division, declared that the proposed Deferred Prosecution Agreement ("DPA") between the SFO and Rolls-Royce plc and Rolls-Royce Energy Systems Inc...more
The factual proof of a financial crime is typically found in the financial data and supporting documentation. Given the evidential obligation on investigative and prosecutorial bodies to identify, collect, verify and analyse...more
The approval of the Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) between the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and XYZ Limited (XYZ) by Leveson LJ on 8 July 2016 has generated much breathless commentary, not least because it is only the...more
7/19/2016
/ Anonymity ,
Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Internal Investigations ,
Popular ,
Self-Reporting ,
Sentencing ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
UK
More carrot, less stick?
On 5 April 2016, the Fraud Section of the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Criminal Division issued an Enforcement Plan and Guidance (the DOJ Guidance), setting out the steps that it is taking to...more
4/27/2016
/ Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Cooperation ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Declination ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Public Interest ,
Remediation ,
Self-Reporting ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
UK ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Yates Memorandum