On November 30, 2015, the UK Serious Fraud Office announced that its application for a Deferred Prosecution Agreement with Standard Bank Plc had been approved by Lord Justice Leveson at Southwark Crown Court. This is the first time that a DPA has been used in the UK. Standard Bank was subject to an indictment for failure to prevent bribery in contravention of the UK Bribery Act 2010. Under the terms of the DPA, the indictment has been suspended and Standard Bank must pay €25.2 million (made up of disgorgement profits and a financial penalty) to the SFO and €7 million to the Government of Tanzania. The bank has also agreed to cooperate fully with the SFO and will be subject to an independent review of its anti-bribery and corruption policies and procedures. A separate penalty of €4.2 million has been agreed between the US Securities and Exchange Commission for separate related conduct.
The SFO announcement and the DPA are available at: http://www.sfo.gov.uk/press-room/latest-press-releases/press- releases-2015/sfo-agrees-first-uk-dpa-with-standard-bank.aspx.
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