White collar crime prosecutions are being extended to employers

New laws could mean company bosses will be prosecuted for not stopping their staff from committing fraud amongst other white collar crimes.

A new criminal finance bill will extend legislation and make employers responsible for preventing money-laundering, false accounting and fraud according to The Times.

Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed to end “boardroom excess” and focus on tackling corporate crime.

It comes after attorney general Jeremy Wright suggested the government would consult on extending the planned law on tax evasion announced earlier this year.

"When considering the question 'where does the buck stop?' and who is responsible for economic crime, it is clear the answer is to be found at every level, from the boardroom down" said Wright.

He went on to say that companies facing prosecution would be more likely to "take the actions necessary to discourage such offending in the first place".

Despite individuals being convicted over the Libor rigging scandal the UK authorities lack the power to act against institutions.

Director of serious fraud office David Green mentioned how Banker Tom Hayes was the first to be convicted for Libor fixing. His employers on the other hand were only held to account in a US court as laws in the US make prosecution easier.

Six former city money brokers who were cleared of helping to rig the lending rate claimed they had been made scapegoats for the scandal and any questions about the affair should have been put to senior bosses, according to the BBC.

Writing in The Guardian in May, ahead of the London summit, Mr Cameron said the new laws would mean “firms are properly held to account for criminal activity that takes place within them”.

The proposed new legislation also comes after former prime minister David Cameron announced in May a consultation on plans for a new law as he held an anti-corruption summit in London.

Partner in fraud and white-collar crime at law firm Pinsent Masons Barry Vitou told The Times: “In practice the evidence trail usually dries much lower down the corporate tree. There is no responsibility for the damage caused by failing to prevent economic crime nor incentives offered which motivate people to do the wrong thing.”

According to Downing Street the government will announce the bill in due course.