Bribery, fraud and anti-money laundering | UK Regulatory Outlook November 2024

Failure to prevent fraud guidance published

On 6 November 2024, the government published the long-awaited guidance on the new corporate offence of failure to prevent fraud, introduced under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.

The failure to prevent fraud offence will come into force on 1 September 2025. Organisations should take advantage of the nine-month implementation period and take steps to ensure compliance ahead of the new changes.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the Director of Public Prosecutions, Stephen Parkinson, have stated that they intend to make full use of their new powers under the act to secure the prosecution of commercial organisations. Director of the SFO, Nick Ephgrave, said: "The publication of this guidance means that time is running short for corporations to get their house in order or face criminal investigation."

For further information, see our Insight.