News
U.K. Outlines Plan to Use Deferred Prosecution Agreements to Settle Financial Crime Allegations
By Brian Monroe
printThe United Kingdom Thursday detailed a plan to settle alleged corporate violations of criminal laws without pursuing prosecutions-a strategy used by U.S. officials to exact billions from financial institutions. In a draft proposal, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said it would seek to enter into deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) with companies believed to have committed fraud, bribery and other financial crimes. British officials should pursue DPAs only when there are "reasonable grounds" to believe that a conviction is winnable but averting prosecution is in the public's best interest, the agency said. The proposal calls on officials that are considering the...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Related News
ACAMS moneylaundering.com spoke with the co-head of the United Kingdom's Serious Fraud Office's bribery and corruption unit, Ben Morgan, about his hopes of securing the U.K.'s first deferred prosecution agreement with a corporate.
With the polls close and voter turnout expected to be around 97 percent, Scotland's referendum on independence is an event rife with uncertainties. One exception: "yes" will mean rethinking the country's banking sector.
The United Kingdom Tuesday outlined how it might soon get tougher on tax cheats through revised penalties and clearer standards for criminal prosecutions when individuals are aided by commercial advisors.
Criticisms of the U.S. Justice Department's apparent decision to forego indictments of HSBC and its employees misses a larger point: the department probably couldn't have won convictions if it tried, say prosecutors.
The U.S. government's landmark case against HSBC Holdings Plc for knowingly turning a blind eye to financial crime is seemingly fated to end much as it began: complex and messy.
The former head of the now defunct Brazilian lender Banco Cruzeiro do Sul was arrested on money laundering charges, a prominent Chinese businessman and at least 80 others were arrested in Spain for allegedly laundering over $1 billion, and more, in the midweek roundup.
The United Kingdom could begin using a powerful prosecutorial tool as early as next year in investigations of financial institutions suspected of facilitating money laundering and sanctions violations.
A federal judge's questioning of the recent DPA between the U.S. Department of Justice and Barclays Bank, could signal that future agreements will be more expensive for financial institutions and more perilous for their top executives, according to legal analysts.
Disagreeing with a corporate monitor overseeing compliance changes can be a "delicate dance" for bank staff, say consultants and former Justice Department officials.