A range of new initiatives to tackle fraud and corruption

The Strategy is just one of many recent developments in the effort to tackle fraud and corruption:

• New Attorney General guidelines have been issued to encourage plea discussions in fraud and corruption cases.
• There will be new legislation to give the crown court powers to bar fraudsters from professional practice and wind up their companies.
• The Serious Fraud Office ("the SFO") has been subject to extensive review and the new Director, Richard Alderman, is committed to making the organisation more proactive and efficient.
• Existing anti-corruption laws have been reviewed and the forthcoming Corruption Bill is expected to simplify the law and make it easier to prosecute individuals and companies.
• Prosecutors are looking for ways to encourage companies to self-report and are exploring viable alternatives to prosecuting every case - the SFO has used a civil recovery order for the first time (rather than a prosecution) to impose a significant financial penalty on a company implicated in corrupt practices.
• New legislation will be introduced to widen the range of fraud victims eligible for criminal compensation and payment enforcement measures will be strengthened.
• The CoLP's Economic Crime Department has been operating as a centre of excellence for fraud, taking on countrywide cases and enquiries – and offering advice and expertise to other forces concerning fraud-related investigations.
• The CoLP will be setting up a reporting centre which will allow victims to report fraud and ensure that intelligence is captured and used to drive arrests. 

How will the Strategy impact on businesses?

The Strategy has been developed through collaboration between regulators, law enforcement agencies, professional bodies and the business community and has looked at ways of improving collaboration between these stakeholders.  Part of the Strategy is about helping businesses to protect themselves from fraudulent activity so they will be expected to play their part by co-operating with regulators, preventing, detecting and reporting fraud and also sharing best practice.

And, as the National Fraud Reporting Centre and National Fraud Intelligence Bureau increase their activities over the next three years, there will be more intelligence available to regulators and prosecution agencies to drive forward more investigations and prosecutions of those who engage in fraudulent or corrupt activities.  As the economic conditions worsen the nature of fraud and corruption risks will change and businesses may be tempted to divert resources away from the compliance function.  But with the current raft of new initiatives, laws and powers the risks are increasing which means all businesses need to update their risk assessments and ensure that they have adequate systems and controls in place to prevent and detect fraud and corruption.

How can we help?

DLA Piper's Corporate Crime & Investigations team aims to help our clients avoid regulatory intervention wherever possible. We can provide valuable advice and assistance on fraud and corruption matters - whether that be training your staff, running risk and compliance audits, managing negotiations and self-reporting, providing advice and assistance during raids, or defending you in court. We can also give our clients a unique insight into the way prosecutors approach their cases because we employ a number of lawyers who have worked in senior positions for the regulators and prosecuting authorities, including the former director of the SFO, Robert Wardle.

Contact Us

For further information, please contact:

DLA Piper Regulatory & Government Affairs Group

Find out more about DLA Piper's global Regulatory & Government Affairs group.