Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, how many letters of invitation to companies to enter negotiations for a deferred prosecution agreement the Serious Fraud Office has issued.

The Serious Fraud Office has issued its first letters of invitation but it would not be appropriate to confirm numbers.

The process of reaching Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) happens in stages. Initial negotiations are confidential to encourage openness on the part of the company. Under the Criminal Procedure Rules, the Court determines whether any relevant hearings are heard in public or in private. Any DPA must be approved by a judge and publicised.