The UK's Serious Fraud Office has secured the country's second deferred prosecution agreement, with a High Court Judge approving it in connection with corruption and bribery conspiracy charges.

The DPA related to an anonymous British firm which was the subject of an indictment alleging conspiracy to corrupt in breach of s1 Criminal Law Act 1977. The allegations revolved around contracts that guaranteed the supply of its products to customers in a number of foreign jurisdictions. Lord Justice Leveson signed the agreement, thereby suspending the indictment, at Southwark Crown Court, sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice.

The company will pay financial orders of £6,553,085, comprised of a £6,201,085 disgorgement of gross profits and a £352,000 financial penalty. £1,953,085 of the disgorgement will be paid by the firm’s US registered parent company as repayment of a significant proportion of the dividends that it received from the SME over the indictment period.

The firm has been co-operating with the SFO. It has agreed to provide a report 'addressing' (presumably listing and checking the veracity of) all third-party intermediary transactions. The report will also look at the effectiveness of the firm's bribery and corruption controls, policies and procedures within twelve months and then every twelve months thereafter for the life of the agreement.

Leveson thought that the case was a good example of, in his words, "the value of self-report."

Before last week's agreement, the Serious Fraud Office had only reached a non-prosecution deal with Standard Bank, which agreed to pay £21.7 million under the terms of the agreement. DPAs originally surfaced in the United States and were imported into the UK in the days of the Coalition Government.