As a result of the Criminal Finances Act 2017, there are new risks for directors and officers and their insurers. Jonathan Newbold & Marlene Henderson investigate.
The recent implementation of the Criminal Finances Act 2017 (CFA) marks the latest legislative crackdown on corporate financial crimes. The CFA has extended the powers of law enforcement agencies to recover the proceeds of crime (including tax evasion, money laundering and terrorist financing) and introduced a strict corporate accountability. The additional scrutiny on corporations and their senior management team is likely to have a knock on effect for D&O policy holders and their insurers.
Criminal Finances Act – what is it?
The CFA, which came into force on 30 September 2017, is fine tuning the approach towards financial crime and extending the powers set out in the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. The driving force behind the CFA was growing concern about levels of tax evasion and a lack of accountability by senior management.
What does the Criminal Finances Act 2017 cover?
In short, and most significantly for businesses, there are two new offences under the CFA.
