Bosses Jailed If Not Stop Fraud

Bosses Jailed If Not Stop Fraud.

According to reports across both news media and the web, Prime Minister Theresa May has suggested that the Government will crack down on negligence by bosses and corporate excess.

Reports suggest that bosses will become legally responsible for any acts of fraud or money laundering committed by their staff.  As well as the person who committed the fraud being liable to a prosecution, so will the owner of the business.  It is, after all, the responsibility of the boss to ensure that adequate procedures are in place to prevent fraud.

Our comments

We have a few suggestions

1. Companies should not be allowed to declare dividends i.e. a distribution of profits to directors, owners and shareholders until pension funding shortfalls and deficits are nil or below say 5-10% of the capital value of the business. This would prevent high flying executives asset stripping business profits out and then folding the company to throw any liabilities onto the shoulders of creditors and compensation schemes
2. All companies should have written vetting procedures for staff recruitment and should complete a criminal records check
3. All employees should have yearly money laundering and fraud training bespoke to their industry
4. All employees should be forced to have a least a full two consecutive weeks holiday each year, so that any irregular activity may come to light of another is doing their job during their absence
5. Employees should equally be made responsible if they know that their boss or their colleagues are committing a fraud or laundering money.
6. Equally, regulators should be made accountable. If a financial regulator employee or a telecoms regulator employee, tasked with monitoring a large organisation that could have significant consumer detriment if they are not treating consumers fairly, the regulator themselves and the employee should at least have some accountability.  For all too long, regulators across many industries have not done their jobs properly, the consumer loses, and the regulator holds their hands up and says “don’t blame us”, they are not accountable.