Serious Fraud Office Reaches An Agreement With Standard Bank

The first deferred prosecution agreement in the UK was finalised between the Serious Fraud Office and Standard Bank, potentially paving the way for future similar agreements.

On 30 November, Southwark Crown Court approved the Serious Fraud Office's (SFO) first application for a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA). The DPA is related to an indictment that alleges the ICBC Standard Bank Plc's (formerly the Standard Bank Plc) (Standard Bank's) failure to prevent bribery under section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010.

DPAs

DPAs were introduced in the UK under section 45 and Sch. 17 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 (the 2013 Act) and represented a new concept in UK legislation. Although technically referred to as a DPA, this agreement is different than the well-known US method of disposing of an investigation that uses the same term.

In essence, a UK DPA is a court-approved plea deal, available for certain types of crimes, under which legal proceedings are suspended in return for a defendant agreeing to satisfy certain conditions. The list of conditions is not limited and may include any number of the following: (i) account of profits, (ii) payment of a fine, (iii) compensation to victims, (iii) payment of reasonable prosecution costs, (iv) participation in any related investigation and/or a compliance programme, and/or (v) donation of money to a charity or other third party. The amount of the financial penalty, agreed on by the parties, shall be "broadly comparable" to the fine, which a court would have imposed after a guilty plea.

DPAs are open to companies, partnerships, and unincorporated associations and are not available to individuals. Furthermore, DPAs are only available to those invited by the SFO to participate. One cannot apply for the process, which requires complete cooperation and a written acceptance that a crime has been committed and what the circumstances of the crime are. A DPA does not replace a prosecution, it merely suspends the operation of that prosecution pending a successful outcome. If the DPA's terms are broken, the prosecution will be revived and will be based on information provided to the SFO (including the admissions made) during the negotiation process.

A DPA is not a private deal between a prosecutor and defendant; it is a way for a defendant to account for a crime to a criminal court. Therefore, a DPA is a public document, and the court will be widely involved at every stage of the process, including the commencement...