Fighting Fraud: Breaking the Chain – House of Lords Report

On 12 November 2022, the House of Lords Select Committee on Digital Fraud and the Fraud Act 2006 published their report; Fighting Fraud: Breaking the Chain. The Committee was Chaired by Baroness Morgan of Cotes, with Sam Thomas acting as a Specialist Advisor to the Committee. The report recommended the introduction of a new corporate criminal offence of ‘failure to prevent fraud’, applicable across all sectors, accompanied by significant financial penalties.

Sam was instrumental in the formation of the proposed offence, providing legal oversight and advice. In particular, Sam provided the Committee with guidance on the potential “reasonable steps” defence which would be available to corporates to ensure that the proposed strict liability offence would not be disproportionately applied.