Business
Final Approval of Deferred Prosecution Agreement
Final Approval of Deferred Prosecution Agreement.
About this update from Entain Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n5 December 2023\n \nEntain plc\n \n(\"Company\" and, together with its subsidiaries, \"Group\")\n \nFinal Approval of Deferred Prosecution Agreement\nEntain plc (LSE: ENT), the global sports betting and gaming group, announces that it has today entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), with the approval of Dame Victoria Sharp, President of the King's Bench Division at the Royal Courts of Justice sitting as the Crown Court at Southwark. \nThe DPA relates to alleged offences under Section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010 and, in particular, a failure by the Company to have adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery in relation to its legacy Turkish-facing business. The Turkish-facing business was sold by a former management team in 2017.\nThe DPA, which comes into effect on today's date, fully resolves HMRC's investigation insofar as it concerns the Company and the Group.\nAs previously announced, under the terms of the DPA (which are in line with the provision taken on 10 August 2023), the Company has agreed to pay a financial penalty plus disgorgement of profits totalling £585 million, to make a charitable donation of £20 million and to pay a contribution of £10 million to HMRC's and the CPS's costs. The financial penalty, disgorgement of profits and the charitable donation will be paid in instalments over the term of the DPA, which will be four years from today's date. \nThe Court has applied the full discount generally available to the financial penalty in recognition of the Company's \"exemplary\" co-operation with HMRC and the CPS.\nSince the conduct giving rise to the DPA, the Group has undertaken a comprehensive review of its anti-bribery policies and procedures and has taken decisive action to significantly strengthen its wider compliance programme and related controls. Recognition of the significant improvements made by the Company is an integral feature of achieving a DPA.\nBarry Gibson, Chairman said:\n\"This is the final step in a process that has hung over our business since HMRC launched its investigation into a business that was sold by a former management team six years ago. We have cooperated extensively and proactively at every stage of the process which, I am pleased to say, has been recognised by the Court. Entain ...