UK companies became criminally liable this week for offences committed by their own senior managers, after Section 250 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026 came into force on 29 June. The law means a business can now be convicted and sentenced for a manager's crime even where the company did not authorise, approve or benefit from the conduct, so long as the manager was acting within their role.
Previously, companies could only be held criminally liable in narrow circumstances. This change extends that liability to virtually any offence under UK law, not just the fraud, bribery and tax crimes it previously covered.
