First conviction under the Bribery Act 2010

On 18th November, Munir Patel became the first person to be sentenced for an offence under the Bribery Act 2010. He was sentenced to three years imprisonment for receiving a bribe and was also sentenced to six years imprisonment for misconduct in a public office.

Mr Patel, a Magistrates Court Adminstrative Officer, pleaded guilty to accepting cash in return for failing to input details of defendants’ traffic offences on a court database. He also admitted that, for over a year, he manipulated the process in at least 53 separate cases to enable those found guilty of road traffic crimes to avoid their fines, driving disqualifications or penalty points.

He was in the most flagrant breach of a position of trust and as His Honour Judge McCreath observed when sentencing Mr Patel, he had a “duty to uphold and protect the integrity of the criminal justice system”. The financial reward Mr Patel obtained through his overall conduct was at least £20,000.

HHJ McCreath went on to say that “It is important that those who are tempted to behave in this way understand that there will be serious consequences. Sentences for this sort of offence must act to deter offending of this kind. They must also reflect the determination of the courts to protect the process from corrupt practices and to maintain public confidence in the justice system.”

The case has naturally attracted a lot of interest. Mr Patel’s wrongdoing lay undetected until it was the subject of an undercover journalist’s sting.

Amongst lawyers the case is of interest because it represents the first implementation of the new Bribery Act notwithstanding the reality that Mr Patel would have been successfully prosecuted whether or not the new Act existed.

A CPS statement followed the decision to prosecute and hailed the case as “the first of its kind under the Bribery Act 2010, which has provided a significant weapon in the armoury of prosecutors that enables us to focus on the bribery element rather than general misconduct behaviour. We will continue to target those who act corruptly purely for personal gain and tailor the charge to reflect their wrongdoing."

For those concerned with business regulation specifically however the case has not proved particularly illuminating. The case tells us little about the aspects of the new Act which most interest businesses, primarily the new offence of failure to prevent bribery within an organisation. We will have to wait a little longer to see how the courts will approach that.

Should you or your organisation require any assistance in relation to the Bribery Act, Hugh James can offer training to board members, staff and a review of current procedures for compliance.