Companies face prosecution risk as new fraud law comes into force

The Serious Fraud Office will be able to launch criminal investigations under new measures to tighten corporate accountability. Photograph: Russell Hart/Alamy

Companies could be prosecuted and face unlimited fines if they fail to prevent fraud that their firm profits from under a corporate offence coming into force on Monday.

Under the new “failure to prevent fraud” law, large companies can be held criminally liable where an “employee, agent, subsidiary or other ‘associated person’” commits a fraud intending to benefit the organisation.