Prosecutions brought under the UK Bribery Act have become a serious and costly concern for companies across industries, including food and beverage manufacturers and distributors, that operate or associate with business partners in the UK.
Deferred Prosecution Agreements
The UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has a number of matters under consideration, including some to which the UK Bribery Act would apply. It seems likely that the SFO may be holding off on some decisions regarding disposal until Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) become an available option in the UK.
The SFO will be able to agree to the disposal of appropriate cases by way of DPAs from early 2014. The process will be similar to that which applies in the U.S., with the important exception that the process will be the subject of judicial scrutiny from the outset. In approaching DPAs, the SFO has indicated that it will look at each individual case in the round, taking full account of the strength of the evidence and considering all relevant public interest factors.
Proposed Guidance on Sentencing and Rewards
No official guidance currently exists on how courts or enforcement agencies in the UK should assess the scale of financial penalties on corporate offenders. Following a public consultation process, it is expected that in early 2014 guidelines will be issued by the UK Sentencing Council regarding sentencing of both individual and corporate offenders in cases of fraud, bribery and money laundering.
Likewise, there is currently no legislative framework in the UK that provides for the compensating of whistleblowers. The UK Home Office has recently published a document that indicates that it is considering proposals that those who come forward with information on financial crimes should be rewarded.
Self-reporting
In a number of statements during 2013, the SFO has indicated a tougher stance with regard to corporate offending. In particular, it has indicated that a self-report of discovered unlawful activity by a corporation will not guarantee protection against prosecution. It would, however, always be a factor that weighed heavily in the public interest against prosecution.
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