Criminal Finances Act 2017
Page 87
CHAPTER 9
Prosecution and the reasonable prevention procedures defence
Introduction
9.1 The two new corporate offences introduced by the Act represent an expansion of the UK’s ‘failure to prevent’ model of criminal liability. The offences have attracted much attention but the circumstances in which they are likely to be prosecuted merit careful consideration along with the mechanics of the single defence available to any company or partnership that is ultimately prosecuted. 9.2 In brief, where a company or partnership is prosecuted for an offence of failure to prevent the facilitation of UK tax evasion or the failure to prevent the facilitation, there is a single defence which enables the company or partnership to avoid criminal liability if the constituent elements of the offence are made out. 9.3 Under section 45(2):It is a defence for B to prove that, when the UK tax evasion facilitation offence was committed -