New UK governance and regulatory requirements coming up in 2024

What’s on the horizon? New UK governance and regulatory requirements coming up in 2024: 

Excerpt: ″The introduction of a new corporate Failure to Prevent Fraud (FTPF) offence for large companies″ qwith large companies being a company or partnership that meets two or more of the following criteria:

1. Annual turnover of more than £36 million
2. Total assets exceeding £18 million
3. More than 250 employees

AI adds: the UK government has introduced a new offence making it a criminal act for organisations to fail to prevent fraud committed by their employees or associated persons. This offence was established under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. ​gibsondunn.com+6ganintegrity.com+6morganlewis.com+6theguardian.com+4thetimes.co.uk+4gibsondunn.com+4

Under this legislation, an organisation can be held criminally liable if an associated person, such as an employee or agent, commits a specified fraud offence with the intention of benefiting the organisation or its clients. Notably, this liability applies even if senior management was unaware of the fraudulent activity. ​ganintegrity.com+2gibsondunn.com+2morganlewis.com+2

However, organisations have a defence if they can demonstrate that they had "reasonable" measures in place to prevent such fraud. ​

Penalties for organisations found guilty of this offence include unlimited fines, potential reputational damage, and exposure to civil litigation. While there is no provision for individual liability under this specific offence, individuals involved in the underlying fraud can still be held personally accountable under existing fraud laws. ​akingump.com

The offence applies to fraud committed under UK law or targeting UK victims, regardless of where the organisation or associated person is based. ​cadwalader.com

Primary source, the law itself and diligent.com