The government is considering a new offensive against corporate failure to prevent economic crime.
The announcement was made by the Attorney General, Jeremy Wright, in a key note address at the end of September to the 32nd Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime.
In the wake of the recession, many businesses and large corporations were found to be guilty of improper handling of money, but current laws do not place enough accountability on such entities for their misconduct, it has been suggested.
In his keynote speech, Jeremy Wright said: “In the UK and around the world, awareness of economic crime and the damages it causes is greater than ever before.
“Over the past year years, allegations of misconduct in the financial services sector have become far too regular an occurrence.”
He said the proposed revision would be based on current laws that make it an offense to fail to prevent bribery – making a company liable for financial crime committed by its employees, agents and subsidiaries.
Since the banking crisis of 2007/09, there has been a greater push for increased corporate accountability to protect taxpayers and to deter against further incidents of financial misconduct.
Mr Wright said: “Problems in the banking industry have been well documented.
“These scandals have undermined public confidence in the integrity of key institutions and markets. This has obliged Governments to act to address the failure of business to operate in a responsible and lawful fashion.”
No indication has yet been given in regard to the introduction of the proposal, but it is unlikely to occur until after the general election next year.