As Abigail Rushton and Rhys Novak write in this week’s NLJ, prosecutors will only have to show a lack of reasonable procedures in place to prevent the offences in order to secure a conviction.
Rushton and Novak, both of Charles Russell Speechlys, look at the shape, scope and form the proposed offence is likely to take, and set out the steps corporate bodies should be taking now to prepare for the Bill’s entry into force. After all, as they write, the Bill ‘is set to be one of the biggest changes to laws tackling economic crime in over a decade’.
They offer advice for corporate bodies, for example, ‘The government’s intention is that the new offence will drive cultural change within organisations and prevent them being able to look the other way if an offence is uncovered. With that in mind, corporates should review, in particular, their internal reporting and whistleblower policies.’
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