The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has announced a new measure available to prosecutors in cases of corporate offending including fraud, money laundering and bribery.
The measure - a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) - can be made between a prosecutor and an organisation to defer prosecution for alleged economic wrongdoing as long as stringent conditions are met.
If they agree to enter into a DPA, organisations will publicly face up to their wrongdoing and may be required to:
- Make amends to victims.
- Pay substantial financial penalties.
- Reform their practices to prevent such conduct occurring again.
DPA agreements are overseen by an independent judge, agreed in open court and the outcome is published to ensure transparency. If, at the end of the period, the prosecutor is satisfied the organisation has met its obligations, there is no prosecution. If not, a prosecution could be brought.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v1.0.
http://www.justice.gov.uk/news/features/new-tool-to-fight-economic-crime