The Government is pushing for new laws that could see senior corporate executives prosecuted for white-collar crime offences.
Expected to be announced in “due course”, the criminal finance legislation would make employers responsible for preventing money laundering, false accounting, fraud, tax evasion, and bribery.
Earlier this year, attorney general Jeremy Wright suggested that the government would consult on extending “failure to prevent” laws, which are currently only available for failing to prevent bribery.
He said that corporates and individuals should be held responsible when considering who should be held accountable.
“When considering the question ‘Where does the buck stop?’ and who is responsible for economic crime, it is clear the answer is to be found at every level, from the boardroom down. Both corporations and individuals are responsible.” the attorney general said.
“The intention of the government actions I have described is not only to prosecute and to fine for breaches of the law, but to promote a culture of corporate responsibility so that we are addressing the threat earlier on and not just reacting to it through investigation and prosecution.
“A change in culture is something that will take time but the results, as we are already starting to see, will be worth the effort.”