Real Estate & the Failure to Prevent Fraud offence

Watch on demand as John Kelsey and Tom Bowen discuss the impact of the new Failure to Prevent Fraud offence on the real estate sector.

The webinar looks at how organisations could be caught by the new regime as well as discussing the practical steps that can be taken to mitigate the risks.  

What is the new offence?

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 introduces the latest “failure to prevent” offence for companies and partnerships, following those relating to bribery and facilitating tax evasion. The new offence makes organisations criminally liable if an associate (including an employee, agent, subsidiary and certain third party service providers) commits any fraud offence in order to benefit the organisation, its customers or clients. It came into force on 01 September 2025.

The aim of this legislation is to raise compliance standards for organisations to ensure they are not benefitting from dishonest conduct in the course of their business which may amount to fraud, such as the provision of false or misleading reports on asset valuations or other financial metrics, or the making of any false statements. A statutory defence is provided if the organisation had in place “reasonable procedures” to prevent fraud.

ECCTA fraud prevention toolkit

Our toolkit provides a range of resources to help organisations understand, assess and mitigate the risks created by the new offence and to develop reasonable anti-fraud procedures.

Get in touch here to find out more and arrange a demo.