What Are the Merits of Taking a Hybrid Regulatory Approach Toward the Enforcement of Corporate Financial Crime in the United Kingdom and United States of America?

Abstract

This article focuses on the hybrid regulatory approaches used in both the USA and the UK for the enforcement of corporate financial crime. In particular, the article analyses the use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements, which typically impose a financial penalty and behavioral commitments on a corporate entity for a defined period of time in exchange for the deferral of a criminal prosecution. The article will examine the merits of the use of DPAs instead of the imposition of criminal penalties on a company. The article will also consider whether a hybrid use of competition law as well as, or instead of, financial regulation could achieve better outcomes for regulators when enforcing financial crime.