Corker Binning respond to the Sentencing Council’s Consultation on Fraud, Money Laundering, Bribery and Corporate Offenders

Corker Binning have responded to the Sentencing Council consultation regarding Fraud, Money Laundering, Bribery and Corporate Offenders. The full text of the response can be accessed here.

The majority of our response focused on our experience of the practical aspects of advising clients about the sentence that they might receive.   We hope that our comments will assist the Council in their efforts to provide guidelines which enable consistency and therefore predictability.

We also note that when introducing the guidelines the council suggested that they would lead to longer sentences for fraud offences. As we note in our response this suggestion chimes with public sentiment following the financial downturn.  Nonetheless, we caution against a knee jerk reaction in the current political climate and would welcome an increased emphasis on alternative sentencing for financial crime offenders such as community service, disqualifications and fines.