Foreword by the Accounting Officer
Scope
This Trust Statement reports on receipts from a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) concluded by the CPS during the financial year. These sums are paid into HM Treasury’s Consolidated Fund.
DPAs are a means of disposing of cases involving corporate defendants and arise from the operational activity of the CPS, the costs of which are accounted for in the separate financial statements contained in this Annual Report.
Statutory background
DPAs were introduced on 24 February 2014, under the provisions of Schedule 17 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013. A DPA is an agreement reached between a prosecutor and an organisation which could be prosecuted and approved by the court. They are available to the CPS and there is a Code of Practice for Prosecutors which was published jointly by the CPS and the SFO on 14 February 2014 after a public consultation.
A DPA allows a prosecution to be suspended for a defined period provided the organisation meets certain specified conditions. DPAs can be used for fraud, bribery, and other economic crime. They apply to organisations only, never individuals.
The key features of DPAs are:
- They enable a corporate body to make full reparation for wrong doing without the collateral damage of a conviction (for example sanctions or reputational damage that could put the company out of business and destroy the jobs and investments of innocent people)
- The terms of a DPA are approved by the court, which must be satisfied that the DPA is ‘in the interests of justice’ and that the terms are ‘fair, reasonable and proportionate’
- They avoid lengthy and costly trials
- They are transparent, public events
Under a DPA, a prosecutor prefers an Indictment which is suspended on approval of the DPA by the court. Corporate cooperation is a key feature of the DPA process.
The terms of a DPA are intended to result in the disgorgement of profits from wrongdoing and to ensure future compliance with the highest standards of corporate governance. If there is a breach of the terms of the DPA the prosecution may be reinstated.
For the period of the DPA there is ongoing monitoring to ensure that the corporate complies with its obligations under the DPA. If the corporate is compliant, at the end of the term of the DPA the CPS will give notice to the court that the proceedings under the indictment have been discontinued.
Financial background
The receipts from DPAs relating to financial penalties and compensation are not retained by the CPS and are payable to HM Treasury’s Consolidated Fund. Where the terms of the DPA include payment of the CPS’ costs, these costs are also payable to the Consolidated Fund and included in this Trust Statement.
No material expenditure was incurred in the process of collecting and processing these receipts.
Financial review
This year we imposed penalties on companies and required them to make redress to affected customers or otherwise support the interests of energy consumers. This financial review covers penalties that resulted in the distribution of funds to the consolidated fund.
The receipts from DPAs relating to financial penalties and compensation are not retained by the CPS and are payable to HM Treasury’s Consolidated Fund. Where the terms of the DPA include payment of the CPS’ costs, these costs are also payable to the Consolidated Fund and included in this Trust Statement.
No material expenditure was incurred in the process of collecting and processing these receipts.
Business review
The CPS entered into a deferred prosecution agreement on 5 December 2023 with Entain plc (formerly known as GVC Holdings), a global online sports betting and gaming business (owner of Ladbrokes and Coral bookmakers) headquartered in London, to settle the HM Revenue & Customs investigation into the Company (and its group).
The conduct which is the subject of this DPA relates to the alleged failure by GVC to prevent bribery contrary to Section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010 between July 2011 and December 2017. The alleged bribery offences occurred primarily in Turkey. GVC disposed of its Turkish business in December 2017.
Entain plc agreed to pay a financial penalty plus disgorgement of profits totalling £585 million, make a charitable donation of £20 million and pay a contribution of £10 million to the CPS and HMRC costs. The charitable donation will not be paid to or distributed via the CPS.
Results and appropriations
The net revenue for the Consolidated Fund for the year was £3.8 million (2024-25: £5.1 million). Total transfers to the Consolidated Fund from the Trust amounted to £146.3 million (2024-25: £150.3 million), which left a balance due to the Consolidated Fund of £242.4 million as at 31 March 2026 (2025: £387.2 million). Cash balances at the year-end were £12.2 million (2024-25: £12.2 million).