Introduction
Following closure of the Serious Fraud Office’s consultation on
the use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements (“DPAs”), DPAs
could be available to prosecutors as early as February 2014.
Deferred Prosecution Agreements
DPAs were introduced by the Crime and Courts Act 2013.
They involve a company reaching an agreement with a
prosecutor under which the company is charged with a criminal
offence but the proceedings are automatically suspended. If a
company breaches any of the conditions in the agreement the
prosecution may resume, but as long as those conditions are
adhered to, the prosecution will remain suspended.
