DPP Latest News: Bribery act reforms raise serious fraud fears

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 30th, 2011 at 6:31 pm

The former chief executive of Langbar International has been jailed for 12 months and banned from being a company director five years, after he was accused of committing serious fraud.

Stuart Langbar was found guilty of three counts of misleading investors by falsely claiming that the investment company had assets held by Banco de Brasil, which would be transferred to the company. The Serious Fraud Office said: ?This was fraud on a grand scale.?

A new version of 2010′s Bribery Act has been introduced, after widespread criticism of the lack of clarity in the original draft.

The new draft includes a corporate criminal offence of ?failing to prevent a bribe by an associated person?. Accused businesses and individuals must show that the company had ?adequate procedures’ in place to prevent the offence.

The changes have caused serious concern for businesses, many of which are devoting a great deal of energy to gearing up for compliance, so they can determine which factors the Serious Fraud Office will look at when deciding whether to prosecute.

Reforms to the Legal aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill are posing fears that many children, vulnerable people and families will be left without sufficient access to justice. By withdrawing the scope of legal aid in several aspects of law, many defendants will be left unable to afford criminal defence solicitors.

Many criminal defence solicitors feel that these changes will result in a justice system that will no longer be able to promise society?s most vulnerable members access to quality representation and will instead be left to fend for themselves.