16th January 2017, London - Commenting on a Deferred Prosecution Agreement between the Serious Fraud Office and Rolls-Royce PLC, Robert Barrington, Executive Director Transparency International UK, said:

"There is little doubt that this settlement for £671 million is an eye-catching sum, and the cooperation between the Serious Fraud Office, Department of Justice and Brazil should send shivers down the spines of corrupt companies and individuals who make bribery a part of doing business."

"Deferred Prosecution Agreements can only be justified when used squarely in the public interest, therefore full and immediate transparency over the alleged crimes are required to be able to make this assessment, especially given the failure of Rolls-Royce to self-report."

"Ultimately, whether or not this settlement is in the public interest, the key individuals responsible for corrupt behaviour must not be allowed to evade justice. Given both the length of time, as well as the breadth, of these allegations it is highly unlikely that senior officials at Rolls-Royce were unaware of any corrupt practices, nor is this likely to be a case of a few bad apples. In order to serve as a proper deterrent for companies who think it is acceptable to do business with bribery, those involved with or who sanctioned bribery must be prosecuted individually."

"This agreement, rather than a conviction, will allow Rolls-Royce to evade exclusion from public contracting issued by the UK Government. It will therefore be a key test of the strength of settlement that Rolls-Royce is required to take extensive remedial actions to change its business practices and agree to independent monitoring to investigate any potential breaches of the agreement."

***ENDS***

Contact:

Dominic Kavakeb

020 3096 7695

079 6456 0340

dominic.kavakeb@transparency.org.uk