The new offence of failure to prevent fraud comes into force on 1 September 2025 and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has warned that “time is running short for corporations to get their house in order or face criminal investigation”. The offence puts the responsibility onto companies to take steps to prevent the commission of frauds that benefit them or their client.

Nick Vamos joins Joshua Rozenberg KC on his latest podcast, A Lawyer Talks, to discuss the new criminal offence of failure to prevent fraud and the recently published government guidelines on fraud prevention measures.

Nick discusses how, “the SFO, amongst others, [have] been calling for a long time for this broader offence of failure to prevent fraud… to make it easier to hold companies accountable for fraud” but how the lack of clarity in the guidance creates “uncertainty for businesses and probably more work for lawyers.”

Some other keys points Nick discusses in the podcast are how the offence will work in practice, what steps companies should now be taking, and the likelihood of prosecutions once the offence is in force.

Please note the podcast requires a subscription.

We have published a series of articles analysing the offence and guidance in detail.