What Does The Serco Trial Collapse Mean For Deferred Prosecution Agreements?

At the end of April, the Serious Fraud Office's prosecution of two former Serco executives dramatically collapsed after it emerged the agency had made mistakes when disclosing documents that jeopardised the trial. Harry Travers and Alex Swan of the white-collar crime team at BCL Solicitors look at the implications on individual prosecutions following corporate Deferred Prosecution Agreements

In February 2014, Deferred Prosecution Agreements ("DPAs") were introduced in England & Wales under section 45 and Schedule 17 to the Crime and Courts Act 2013. They were designed as a tool to enable the Serious Fraud Office ("the SFO") and the Crown Prosecution Service to reach agreements with corporate organisations to defer their prosecution for a criminal offence, in exchange for certain conditions being met. The rationale underpinning the DPA regime, as stated by the Government in its 2012 response to the consultation on DPAs, is to "...allow prosecutors to hold offending