Theft meaning

This Checklist summarises the Sentencing Council’s guidelines for sentencing corporate offences of fraud under the Fraud Act 2006 (FrA 2006), Theft Act 1968 (TA 1968), Value Added Tax Act 1994 (VATA 1994) and Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (CEMA 1979) in the Crown Court and magistrates’ court This Checklist outlines the Sentencing Council’s approach to sentencing corporate fraud offences under FrA 2006, TA 1968, VATA 1994 and CEMA 1979 in the Crown Court and magistrates’ court. The Fraud Guidelines for corporate offenders are available here. The Sentencing Council also issues overarching guidance to be considered in all sentencing decisions, including: Totality guideline Overarching principles Overarching guideline on reduction in sentence for a guilty plea For guidance on using guidelines, see Practice Notes: Sentencing criminal offences—sentencing guidelines and resources and Sentences imposed following conviction. The General guideline: overarching principles (the General guideline) is to be applied alongside offence‑specific definitive guidelines. It considers seriousness and gives expanded direction on aggravating and mitigating...

A deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) A DPA is a negotiated agreement between an organisation and a designated prosecutor, allowing the latter to defer a prosecution by staying an indictment on set conditions. Whilst the DPA remains in force, no proceedings relating to the covered matters may be brought against the organisation. Consequently, a company can continue operating without a protracted criminal investigation or an expensive prosecution hanging over it. For detailed information on DPAs, see the Practice Notes below: Deferred prosecution agreements DPA process Terms and content of a DPA DPAs in practice DPAs are only available to organisations for the offences specified in the Crime and Courts Act 2013, Schedule 17 (CCA 2013). The checklist below lists the offences for which a DPA may be entered into, covering both common law and statutory offences. In addition, any offence that is ancillary to those offences is eligible for disposal by a DPA. Ancillary offences include aiding and abetting, or...

Checklist on cryptoassets This Checklist on cryptoassets examines matters for dispute resolution practitioners to address when handling claims that touch on cryptoassets. It reviews the principal procedural questions that arise in bringing a civil action where cryptoassets — commonly their retrieval — are implicated in some respect. The distinctive intangibility and cross-border character of cryptocurrencies, enabling actors to exploit the asset and shift it worldwide into less favourable jurisdictions, has rendered them vulnerable to misappropriation and theft and, so, far, the body of caselaw in this field has largely focused on recovering stolen cryptocurrencies. Rulings to date have mostly been confined to the interlocutory stage, yet the English courts have shown an inclination to adopt a flexible stance and to utilise the panoply of procedures and rules available to them in order to support effective efforts at civil recovery...

In this issue: Decision to prosecute and alternatives to prosecution Criminal procedure and evidence Proceeds of crime Appeals and judicial review Sentencing Bribery, corruption, sanctions and export controls Cybercrime and data protection offences Fraud, forgery, tax and theft offences Health and safety and corporate manslaughter offences Other corporate crime updates LexTalk®Corporate Crime: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Decision to prosecute and alternatives to prosecution Deferred Prosecution Agreements—an ‘expiry date’ or a ‘best before’? (Guralp Systems Ltd v Serious Fraud Office) The statutory framework for Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) requires an expiry date within every DPA, mandates that any breach application is made while the DPA remains in force, and provides that where a DPA lasts until its expiry, the proceedings are to be discontinued. In this case, the DPA’s terms specified effectiveness for...

In this issue: Criminal procedure and evidence Proceeds of crime Appeal and judicial review Sentencing Bribery, corruption, sanctions and export controls Cybercrime and data protection offences Environmental offences Financial services and pensions offences Food safety and hygiene offences Fraud, forgery, tax and theft offences Health and safety and corporate manslaughter offences Local authority prosecutions Money laundering International LexTalk®Corporate Crime: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Criminal procedure and evidence Court delays soar as backlogs break records Between April and June 2025, the criminal courts in England and Wales amassed an unprecedented caseload of almost 440,000, with incoming matters exceeding disposals and a system hampered by long-standing funding shortfalls. In response, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), together with The Rt Hon David Lammy MP, confirmed extra resources to accelerate outcomes for...

In this issue: Investigating criminal conduct Decision to prosecute and alternatives to prosecution Sentencing Bribery, corruption, sanctions and export controls Cybercrime and data protection offences Environmental offences Financial services and pensions offences Food safety and hygiene offences Fraud, forgery, tax and theft offences Health and safety and corporate manslaughter offences Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Investigating criminal conduct Whistleblowing in the UK—Still a long road ahead Rahman Ravelli’s legal director, Dr Angelika Hellweger, together with associate, Tatiana Novikova, examine how the UK handles whistleblowing. They map out the present UK statutory position and other relevant mechanisms, assess the scope of the safeguards they afford, and set these against the options open to whistleblowers in the United States of America. They also describe the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) whistleblower reward initiative announced near the end of 2025,...

This Practice Note sets out the offences of fraud by failing to disclose and fraud by abuse of position under sections 3 and 4 of the Fraud Act 2006 (FrA 2006). Each is a means by which the general fraud offence in FrA 2006, s 1 can be committed. These offences are most often brought against professionals, fiduciaries, or those in positions of trust, or with a fiduciary relationship to the victim. Fraud by failure to disclose information An offence of fraud by failing to disclose is made out where a defendant: dishonestly withholds information from another when under a legal duty to reveal it, and intends to secure a gain for themselves or someone else, or intends to cause another a loss, or to expose them to the risk of loss Conduct falling within this description constitutes the general fraud offence under FrA 2006, s 1. The emphasis is on the defendant’s conduct and intention; it does not matter...

Auction processes Auction processes are pivotal in particular industries; for example, in private equity, in government privatisations, and in other large‑value transactions, where they remain central to those transactions. Selling shares by way of auction is intended to trigger competitive bidding for the target among interested parties, achieving both the highest achievable price and securing the best possible terms. For the seller, there is strong certainty that completion will occur with a preferred bidder (which is preferable from management’s point of view). Auctions may involve numerous bidders, or be narrowed and targeted to a selected few bidders only. This will generally depend on the market in which the target company operates and the nature of its business, that is, the market it operates in and its business’s nature. Typically the seller directs the auction and appoints advisers to act for it—for instance, an investment bank—to promote the sale of the target on the seller’s behalf...

Fraud by false representation This Practice Note considers the offence of fraud by false representation under section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006 (FrA 2006), read together with FrA 2006, section 1. The constituent elements are: making a false representation dishonestly knowing that the representation is, or might be, untrue or misleading with the intention of obtaining a gain for the defendant or another, causing loss to another, or exposing another to the risk of loss The offence spans a wide range of behaviour. No actual gain or loss is required, and the representation need not in fact deceive anyone for FrA 2006 liability to arise. The offence is complete once a false representation is made with the necessary knowledge, dishonesty and intent, and it is immaterial whether anyone is aware of it... You may also be interested in the following Practice Notes: Fraud by failure to disclose and abuse of position Obtaining services...

[ Insert organisation name ] is proud of how we conduct our business. Our Code of ethics sets out the standards and policies that govern our operations and applies to everyone. Please read the Code carefully, make sure you understand it, and use it to guide your work. If you have any queries about the Code or its application, please speak with [ insert contact details ]. 1 What is fraud? 1.1 In broad terms, fraud is a criminal act involving deception or theft to secure an advantage. 1.2 The failure to prevent fraud offence under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA 2023) covers a wide range of fraud offences carried out for the benefit of our organisation, including: fraud by false representation fraud by failing to disclose information fraud by abuse of position obtaining services dishonestly participation in a fraudulent business false statements by company directors false accounting fraudulent trading cheating the...

1 Introduction 1.1 Fraud poses a significant challenge for individuals and companies in every country and across all sectors. 1.2 Its impact can be severe. For our organisation, the risk arises in two forms, ie where our organisation: 1.2.1 is targeted directly as the victim of a fraudulent act; and 1.2.2 does not prevent an associated person committing fraud with the intention of benefiting our organisation, or, in some cases, our customers. 1.3 We conduct our organisation with integrity, acting honestly and ethically. All of us must work together to keep it free from any taint of fraud. 1.4 This policy underpins that effort and has the full support of the [ insert senior management body, eg Board ]. It sets out the measures everyone must follow to prevent fraud in our organisation and to comply with relevant legislation. 2 What is fraud and how does it affect us? 2.1 Broadly, fraud is a criminal act involving deception...

Threat Advanced persistent threat (APT) What is it? Attackers obtain unauthorised access to a system and remain concealed for extended periods, potentially moving sensitive data without permission. Even once spotted, they may leave several backdoors so they can return. Our defensive measures We ensure users understand the risk and follow basic account security practices. We use firewalls to monitor and filter traffic. We use antivirus software. Botnet What is it? A group of infected computers remotely controlled by a hacker, who can share or sell access to other cyber criminals to send spam or overwhelm a system. Our defensive measures See Malware and Hacking Chain letter What is it? An email that pushes recipients to forward it to others. Not a security threat, but it wastes time and can slow email servers. Our defensive measures We advise users not to forward chain letters or hoaxes. We...