Writing in NLJ this week, Robert Hargreaves, lecturer in law at York St John University, explains that s 250 replaces the old 'directing mind' test with a broader senior manager attribution model covering all criminal offences, not just economic crime. Crucially, there is no 'reasonable procedures' defence, meaning organisations may face liability regardless of the strength of their compliance systems.
Hargreaves says businesses should urgently review governance, training, authority structures and insurance, while also reassessing self-reporting because deferred prosecution agreements remain unavailable for many newly in-scope offences.
His warning is stark: practitioners who delay advising clients until test cases emerge 'may find that the first cases concern their own clients'.
