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ARTICLE · 10 MAY 2022

Failure To Prevent Bribery

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On 14 April three individuals and three companies were sentenced for their role in a bribery scheme spanning nine years. The prosecution merits consideration because, as well as securing convictions...

United KingdomCriminal Law
Anna Gaudoin
Anna Gaudoin
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This blog post was first published by The Law Society Gazette on May 6, 2022.

On 14 April three individuals and three companies were sentenced for their role in a bribery scheme spanning nine years. The prosecution merits consideration because, as well as securing convictions for corruption and conspiracy to corrupt, the case represents a (rare) instance of the successful enforcement of section 7 of the UK's Bribery Act 2010 (UKBA) – the corporate offence of failure to prevent bribery. This article takes a look at what the convictions might mean for the future of section 7 and, more widely, the concept of 'failure to prevent' as the future basis of corporate criminal liability.

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