By Stephen Pollard, Christopher David, Lloyd Firth, and Leila Gaafar

On 6 August 2019, the UK Serious Fraud Office (‘SFO’) published Corporate Co-operation Guidance (‘Guidance’)[1].  This Guidance is designed to assist companies considering whether to self-report corporate wrongdoing to the SFO and, if so, how to achieve maximum co-operation credit to help avoid prosecution, or be offered the opportunity to enter into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (‘DPA’).  In doing so, it clarifies the SFO’s position on various key investigative themes, including: data gathering and production; the company’s dealings with individual witnesses and suspects; and the implications of asserting legal professional privilege (‘Privilege’) over witness accounts obtained during an internal investigation. Continue reading →