On 31st July, Out-Law carried a briefing saying that the new owners of a company at the centre of a bribery investigation will not face enforcement action from the SFO, which was instead able to prosecute the previous owner. The bribery scheme by ALCA Fasteners was uncovered in late 2017 after the sale of the company to new owners, who reported the matter to the SFO. The law firm behind Out-Law says that the decision indicates that if an acquirer does the right thing on discovering a fraud within a newly purchased company, the SFO will not penalise the acquirer – the acquirer also being an innocent victim at the hands of the old management’s fraud.
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