Criminal Law

The corporate offence of Failure to Prevent Fraud (FtPF) in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 creates criminal liability for in scope organisations where an “associated person” (employees, agents, subsidiaries or others acting for or on behalf of the firm) commits a “specified fraud offence” intending to benefit the firm or its customers, unless the firm can demonstrate, on the balance of probabilities, that it had reasonable prevention procedures in place at the time or that it was not reasonable in all the circumstances to have any procedures.

Recent reports have reignited debate over whether a public inquiry into Jeffrey Epstein's activities in the UK should take place, following apparently conflicting messages from the Government. Seetal Patel, a solicitor specialising in abuse claims, examines why survivors' concerns must remain at the heart of the debate and argues that transparency, accountability and meaningful action are essential for those seeking answers.

On 16 July 2026, the Serious Fraud Office ("SFO") published its Annual Report and Accounts for 2025-26 (the "Annual Report"), providing an overview of the SFO's performance...