UK Serious Fraud Office Releases Guidance on Deferred Prosecution Agreements

Since 2014, a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) has been an option for the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in dealing with criminal misconduct by a company. While entering into a DPA does not require a company to admit guilt, the company must admit misconduct and fulfill other obligations imposed on it under the terms of the DPA. In exchange, the SFO will defer prosecution of the company for an agreed-upon period of time.