To both clean up corporate behaviour and rack up its own enforcement record, the UK’s anti-bribery agency has seemingly largely guaranteed companies a pass from prosecution if they spill the beans on their misconduct. There’s only one problem: experts believe businesses may still stand a better outcome if they front it out rather than self-report and hope for a deal.
For the past eleven years, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has tried to entice companies to tell all in return for the offer of a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA). Such agreements have the advantage of bringing a halt to criminal proceedings, and they don’t prevent companies from bidding for public sector contracts. They also help the SFO better manage its caseload and jack up its enforcement record.
