The U.K. government is preparing to begin prosecutions under the new criminal offence of Failure to Prevent Fraud (FTPF), which comes into force on Sept 1. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Serious Fraud Office (SFO) signaled their intent to take action against companies that fail to comply when they published joint updated guidance for prosecutors dealing with corporate prosecutions on Aug 18.

Ruth Prickett graduated from Cambridge University with a BA hons in History and has specialized in business and finance journalism for the past 20 years. She was editor of Financial Management, the magazine...