Nine months and counting.
The government publishes its guidance on the new failure to prevent fraud offence
The long-awaited guidance to organisations on the new failure to prevent fraud (FTPF) offence, introduced by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, was published on 6 November 2024.
The guidance is intended to assist organisations to develop and implement appropriate procedures and policies to combat fraud occurring in their businesses. Its publication paves the way for the FTPF offence to come into effect in just over nine months’ time; by 1 September 2025, all in-scope organisations will need to have in place reasonable procedures to prevent fraud being committed by their associated persons (such as employees, agents, subsidiaries and other persons that perform services for or on their behalf) so that they have the best chance of raising a defence if prosecuted for failing to prevent such wrongdoing.
The thorough analysis of the risks faced, review of existing policies and planning for potentially fraudulent situations required to mitigate against the FTPF offence will entail careful and detailed consideration by in-scope organisations. Our investigations team has reviewed the guidance and provides a summary of its key points together with actions businesses can be taking now to prepare.
