The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has published new guidance on corporate co-operation, which is intended to encourage corporates to self-report potential criminal misconduct to the SFO.
The guidance provides that, if a corporate entity self-reports suspected wrongdoing and cooperates fully with an SFO investigation, it can expect to be invited to negotiate a Deferred Prosecution Agreement rather than face prosecution, unless exceptional circumstances apply.

Charles Thomson and Henry Garfield of Baker & McKenzie LLP look at the Serious Fraud Office’s recent performance and developments in the internal and external environment in which it operates.

The UK Serious Fraud Office’s annual report for the year ended March 31, 2015 reports, among other things, a 78% conviction rate, 16 new investigations while 30 defendants await trial. These statistics represent an upward trend from the previous year. Details of enforcement 1. The SFO has opened 16 new…