The head of the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office is calling for new legislation that would make companies criminally liable for failing to prevent employee theft or fraud.
The U.K. Bribery Act already holds companies liable for failure to prevent bribery by employees if it can be proven the companies lacked adequate procedures in place to prevent the infraction. David Green, the SFO director since 2012, believes that policy should be extended, making companies liable in cases of theft or fraud by their employees or agents as well. Green’s comments, first reported by the Financial Times, were made this week during a conference organized by the law firm Baker & McKenzie.
