Article looks back at UK Bribery Act, now in its 11th year, and how it was considered to be the 'gold standard' for anti-corruption by its supporters, who had been calling for a much-needed overhaul to the existing legislation. As the Bribery Act has resulted in so few prosecutions by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the article considers why the legislation — thought to be some of the toughest in the world — has sought so few convictions in practice. Special attention is given to the role that deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) have played in the low number of prosecutions and how DPAs combined with the organization's cooperation with the SFO often results in charges being dropped.
This article was first published in inCOMPLIANCE, the official publication of the International Compliance Association, www.int-comp.org.
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