Call us now: 0141 429 8166
Call us now: 0141 429 8166
The failure to prevent fraud became a criminal offence on 1 September 2025, with the enactment of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (the ‘2023 Act’) in the UK.
The 2023 Act significantly expands corporate criminal liability, building on existing offences such as the failure to prevent bribery and the facilitation of tax evasion.
While the failure to prevent fraud is now a UK-wide offence, enforcement will differ depending on whether an organisation is under the jurisdiction of the Crown Prosecution Service in England and Wales, or the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in Scotland.
The new legislation aims to hold organisations accountable where fraud is committed for its benefit by its employees or other associated persons, and where an organisation has failed to put reasonable fraud prevention procedures in place.
An organisation can be prosecuted even if senior management had no knowledge of, or involvement in, the commission of a fraud.
Fraud accounts for over 40% of all crime in the UK, and enforcement agencies have indicated an appetite to criminalise organisations for non-compliance with the new legal framework.
Organisations that fail to comply may, for example, (i) face unlimited fines, (ii) significant reputational damage especially in trust-based sectors, (iii) increased regulatory scrutiny, and (iv) potential civil legal action.
Our Specialist Litigation Team can provide your organisation with bespoke and tailored advice to implement practical fraud prevention measures, whilst supporting commercial objectives and minimising business disruption.
For advice on how to support your business navigate new and existing regulatory requirements, contact our Specialist Litigation Team on 0141 429 8166 or by completing our online enquiry form.
Livingstone Brown is a leading firm of Scottish solicitors. Based in Glasgow, but dealing with cases around the country, the firm has been at the forefront of legal service provision for over thirty years.
If you have a legal problem, getting good quality legal information at the earliest stage can be invaluable. The firm offers a free initial enquiry service; all you have to do is call in, telephone, or e-mail. You won't be charged for your enquiry; we'll let you know by return whether we can help, what we can do, and how much it's likely to cost. We can also offer legal aid where available.
Led by former senior partner Gerard Brown CBE, who continues as a consultant, the firm has built up an enviable reputation for quality of service and client care.
The firm has won various awards over the years. In the 2019 edition of the prestigious Legal 500 rankings Livingstone Brown was ranked as a 'top-tier' firm for general criminal work, and is also recommended for fraud cases. Stuart Munro and Gerard Brown were named as 'Recommended Lawyers'. In the Chambers directory the firm has a Band 1 ranking for criminal work, and Stuart Munro is a ranked financial crime lawyer. The firm was named Criminal Defence Firm of the Year and Family Law Team of the Year at the Scottish Legal Awards 2019.
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AWARD WINNING, SCOTTISH SOLICITORS
