17th Jul 2020 14:38
(Alliance News) - The UK Serious Fraud Office has on Friday said it received final approval to enter into a deferred prosecution agreement with G4S Care & Justice Services UK Ltd, which is a part of G4S PLC.
The SFO and G4S have agreed that the FTSE 250-listed firm will pay a fine of more than GBP38.5 million and costs of GBP5.9 million after a probe into its financial reporting to the Ministry of Justice.
G4S Care has accepted responsibility for three offences of fraud against the Ministry of Justice between 2011 and 2012 from its contracts for the provision of electronic monitoring services.
G4S Care provided electronic monitoring services to the government from 2005 to 2013, and the fraud involved a "very substantial loss to the public purse".
The G4S subsidiary has already paid out GBP121.3 million to the Ministry of Justice following a civil settlement in 2014.
"This deferred prosecution agreement ensures G4S Care is held accountable for its methodical fraud against the Ministry of Justice. It also guarantees that G4S Care and its parent company, G4S – a significant government supplier – will be subjected to unprecedented, multi-year scrutiny and assurance," said SFO Director Lisa Osofsky.
"The deferred prosecution agreement reflects our continued commitment to using the full range of tools available to us to hold corporates to account and ensure justice for victims of fraud," added Osofsky.
The deferred prosecution agreement settlement deal was approved by Justice William Davis at the Royal Courts of Justice on Friday.
Davis said the deferred prosecution agreement will last for three years during which period the compliance measures will continue and will be reviewed.
G4S shares were trading 1.7% lower in London on Friday at 131.00 pence each.
By Evelina Grecenko; [email protected]
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