On 6 November 2024, the government published general guidance on the new failure to prevent fraud offence and has confirmed the offence will come into effect on 1 September 2025. As expected, the guidance covers the six pillars referenced in guidance for similar “failure to prevent” offences.
Many financial services firms will be in the process of reviewing their anti-fraud controls to identify any enhancements required to allow them to take advantage of the reasonable procedures defence. This guidance will inform that work pending more specific sector focused guidance for the financial services industry which is currently anticipated.
In the meantime, the general guidance emphasises the importance of the following:
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Top level commitment: The guidance provides that for organisations subject to the FCA’s “Senior Managers and Certification Regime”, the lead senior manager for the purposes of failure to prevent fraud may be the same person as the “Senior Manager” with r