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ARTICLE · 22 FEBRUARY 2014

Deferred Prosecution Agreements

Withers LLP
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Deferred Prosecution Agreements (‘DPAs’) are voluntary agreements due to come into force on 24 February 2014, pursuant to which a prosecutor and an organisation can agree that, as long as certain terms of the DPA are satisfied the prosecutor will initially suspend and eventually terminate criminal prosecution of the organisation.

United KingdomCorporate/Commercial Law
Gerallt Owen
Gerallt Owen
Anne Davies
Anne Davies
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What are they?

Deferred Prosecution Agreements ('DPAs') are voluntary agreements due to come into force on 24 February 2014, pursuant to which a prosecutor and an organisation can agree that, as long as certain terms of the DPA are satisfied the prosecutor will initially suspend and eventually terminate criminal prosecution of the organisation. Essentially, although the organisation will not be pleading guilty to an offence, it will be admitting its wrongdoing and will receive a fine from the judge but will avoid criminal prosecution.

The Crime and Courts Act 2013, which contains the relevant provisions governing the introduction of DPAs, clarifies that individuals cannot benefit from DPAs which can only be entered into by organisations, defined in the Act as being bodies corporate, partnerships or unincorporated partnerships. In addition, DPAs are only available for a specified number of offences including Fraud, Bribery, Money Laundering and Forgery Offences,

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