Companies would be criminally liable for fraud and computer misuse committed by senior executives under proposals laid out today by the government’s law reform advisers.
The Law Commission is calling for a new offence of “failure to prevent fraud by an employee or agent”. The legislation would apply when a company had not ensured that appropriate measures were in place to prevent their employees or those acting on behalf of the business from committing a fraud for the benefit of the company.
The review of corporate criminal liability comes in response to concerns that current legislation falls short of holding large companies to account, particularly over economic crimes.
Ministers asked the commission, which advises on law reform in England and Wales, to produce a set
