The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has expanded its policy for businesses wishing to ‘self-report’ economic crime, significantly expanding the range of offences eligible to be self-reported.
The self-report initiative was originally introduced in 2011 to mark the commencement of the Bribery Act 2010, which transformed corporate criminal liability by introducing the offence of failure by a commercial organisation to prevent bribery. The initiative provides a mechanism for the self-reporting of bribery offences occurring within a business, for the Crown to determine whether it is in the public interest to take prosecutorial action, or to refer the matter to the Civil Recovery Unit (CRU) for civil settlement under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Since its inception, a range of bribery offences have been self-reported to COPFS and the initiative is recognised as having successfully promoted corporate transparency and responsible governance.
Following the recent creation of new criminal offences which have extended the scope of corporate criminal liability, the self-report policy operated by COPFS has been expanded. From 1 September 2025, businesses may self-report a wider range of offences, namely:
· Failure to prevent bribery (section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010)
· Failure to prevent facilitation of tax evasion (sections 45 and 46 of the Criminal Finances Act 2017)
· Failure to prevent fraud (section 199 of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023)
· Offences committed by a senior manager of a business, which are attributed to the business (section 196 of the 2023 Act)
Under the policy, businesses must submit reports via a solicitor to the Crown Office. The business must have conducted a thorough internal investigation – typically involving forensic accountants – and must provide full disclosure of wrongdoing, as well as evidence of remedial action taken by the business to prevent further unlawful conduct. The business must be committed to an open and honest dialogue with COPFS, and to meaningful cooperation with any further investigation.
COPFS will rigorously assess each case on its own merits and independent prosecutors will assess whether the public interest is best served by prosecutorial action or referral to CRU. Where a case is referred to CRU, it will be further investigated. CRU will engage with the business, their agents, and a third-party forensic accountancy firm, to quantify the appropriate level of settlement by reference to the benefit obtained by the business through unlawful conduct.
Funds recovered by CRU are paid into the Scottish Consolidated Fund, which contributes to the CashBack for Communities programme; a Scottish Government initiative which takes funds recovered from the proceeds of crime and invests them back into communities. CashBack-funded organisations deliver a range of projects to support young people at risk of entering the criminal justice system and the communities most affected by crime. Since the self-report initiative began, a total of £16.52 million has been remitted to the Scottish Consolidated Fund.
Guidance for businesses on the self-report policy is available at Self report policy: guidance to businesses reporting economic crime offences | COPFS
Solicitors seeking preliminary discussions or wishing to submit a report are advised to email pa_pfspecialistcasework@copfs.gov.uk or write to the Crown Office.
The expansion of the self-report initiative reflects the Lord Advocate’s commitment to evolving policy in line with developments in economic crime legislation and enforcement. The introduction of new corporate criminal offences will bring benefits in terms of holding businesses to account for wrongdoing. COPFS is committed to robustly tackling fraud and other forms of economic crime, to protect the public and the economy. It is hoped that making the self-report policy available to a wider range of economic crimes will encourage even greater accountability and foster a corporate culture of transparency and integrity.