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Deferred Prosecution Agreements: pragmatic but unprincipled?

Earlier this year, Airbus was ordered to pay billions in fines in a deferred prosecution agreement. But Airbus has not been convicted of any crimes. Joshua Rozenberg investigates.

Earlier this year, Airbus was ordered to pay nearly €1bn by a criminal court in London. The penalty, for failure to prevent bribery, was more than twice the fines paid by defendants in England and Wales for the whole of 2018. In addition, the global aerospace company was required to pay fines totalling €2.6bn in France and the United States. But Airbus has not been convicted of any crimes and nobody has gone to prison. Joshua Rozenberg Investigates deferred prosecution agreements.

Contributors:
Tim Bowden, partner, Dechert
Alex Brummer, City editor of the Daily Mail
Toby Duthie, co-founder, Forensic Risk Alliance
Duncan Hames, director of policy, Transparency International
Laura Haywood, case controller, Serious Fraud Office
Eric Russo, prosecutor, Parquet National Financier
Janette Rutterford, emeritus professor of finance and financial history, Open University Business School

Researcher: Diane Richardson
Producer: Neil Koenig

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28 minutes

Last on

Thu 28 May 2020 20:00

Broadcasts

  • Tue 26 May 2020 16:00
  • Thu 28 May 2020 20:00

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