Practitioner course
Fraud and Financial Crime
Legislation, Regulation and Practical Implementation
A nine session written course covering the offences, the corporate liability framework, and the organisational programme that holds it all together.
UK primary, with New Zealand and Australia addressed where the frameworks differ.
Disclaimer
This course is provided for general information and educational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and is not a substitute for jurisdiction-specific professional counsel, as legislation, regulation, and regulatory guidance change. Readers should satisfy themselves as to the current position and seek appropriate professional advice where needed. All content represents the independent views and experience of Russel Fielding and does not represent any employer or client organisation.
About this course
Fraud and Financial Crime: a practitioner's course
This is a nine session written course. Together, the nine sessions cover the legislation, the regulatory framework, and the implementation work that anyone responsible for fraud and financial crime compliance in a regulated organisation needs to understand.
The course is written for compliance officers, fraud and financial crime leads, MLROs who, in many firms, also own bribery and fraud risk, risk managers, in-house counsel, senior managers, and programme directors with delivery responsibility for financial crime work. It is written from the perspective of someone who has delivered this work in regulated organisations.
The UK is the primary reference point. Each session includes a Jurisdiction Equivalents section where relevant, addressing New Zealand and Australia, where the frameworks differ. The depth of that treatment is scaled to the extent to which the regimes diverge. For fraud and bribery, the comparable offences are covered in some detail. For the failure to prevent model and the senior manager attribution rules, the UK position is examined in depth, with the New Zealand and Australian positions briefly distinguished.
The course covers an area that changes quickly. The failure to prevent fraud offence under section 199 of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 came into force on 1 September 2025. The Crime and Policing Act 2026 further expanded the senior manager attribution model, with section 250 coming into force on 29 June 2026. Both developments are addressed in their relevant sessions. Readers should verify the current position before relying on any specific point.
The nine sessions
Each session is self contained. Each ends with a Key Takeaways box, a Jurisdiction Equivalents section where relevant, and pointers to the underlying legislation and guidance. Reading time per session is between twenty-five and forty-five minutes.
Introduction and the Financial Crime Landscape
Why has the financial crime control environment changed so quickly? The expansion of corporate criminal liability, the failure to prevent model, the senior manager attribution rules, and what those changes mean for how programmes now need to be built.
The Fraud Offences
The Fraud Act 2006 in detail, including sections 1 to 4, 6, 7, 9 and 11, the related Theft Act 1968 offences, the Computer Misuse Act 1990, and the common law offence of cheating the public revenue. How prosecutors choose between offences. A high level survey of the main fraud types, with the Scam Shield guide as the deeper reference.
The Bribery Offences
The Bribery Act 2010 sections 1, 2 and 6. The OECD Convention, UNCAC, and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, as they interact with UK organisations. Facilitation payments, gifts and hospitality. The FCA Principles for Businesses as they apply to bribery and corruption. The corporate offence under section 7 is treated in Session Five.
Insider Dealing and Market Abuse
The two-regime structure: the criminal offence of insider dealing under Part V of the Criminal Justice Act 1993, and the civil regime under the UK Market Abuse Regulation. Inside information, insiders, market manipulation, suspicious transactions, order reports, insider lists, and PDMR notifications. FCA enforcement patterns and the developing crypto asset market abuse regime.
The Failure to Prevent Framework
The three corporate offences together: failure to prevent bribery under section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010, failure to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion under sections 45 and 46 of the Criminal Finances Act 2017, and failure to prevent fraud under section 199 of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. The adequate and reasonable procedures defences. The six principles in each set of government guidance.
Corporate Criminal Liability and the Senior Manager Test
From the directing mind and will doctrine, through section 196 of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, to section 250 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026. What does a senior manager mean, and why is it not a title? Actual or apparent scope of authority. Why the test changes the corporate risk picture for organisations of all sizes.
The Financial Crime Risk Assessment
One of the least developed parts of many programmes. How a financial crime risk assessment differs from a business wide AML risk assessment, where they should overlap, and what each offence in scope needs to be assessed against. Customer, product, geographic, third party, and internal risk. How the risk assessment shapes the rest of the programme.
Building and Running the Financial Crime Programme
Governance, ownership and the relationship between the financial crime function and the MLRO. Three lines of defence applied to financial crime. Designing controls that work across offences rather than duplicating effort. Training, whistleblowing, data sharing under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, internal audit, and independent assurance.
Implementation Summary
A consolidated obligations checklist cross referenced to the legislation across the offences covered by the course. Common failure modes raised by supervisors and prosecutors. What good looks like under the current framework. Designed as a working reference that readers will keep returning to.
What you get
From this course
Legislation in detail
The statutes, sections, and regulatory framework that underpin fraud, bribery, insider dealing, market abuse and the corporate offences. Accurate citations, not broad summaries.
Reflecting the current legal position
Including the failure to prevent fraud offence in force from 1 September 2025 and the senior manager attribution model under section 250 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026.
Practitioner perspective
Written by someone who has delivered this work in regulated organisations, not observed it. The course addresses what programmes look like in practice, including where they commonly fall short.
Three jurisdictions
The UK is the primary reference point, with New Zealand and Australia addressed where the frameworks differ. The depth of treatment is scaled to the degree of divergence.
Integration with existing material
Cross referenced to the published guides on bribery and corruption, fraud, the failure to prevent model, and the senior managers and certification regime, so readers can go deeper where needed.
A working reference
Includes the implementation checklist in Session Nine. Designed to be returned to when reviewing a programme, briefing a board, or scoping new controls. A working reference, not something read once and set aside.
Who is it for
Audience
This course is written for
Compliance officers and financial crime leads responsible for designing, running, or testing fraud and financial crime controls in a regulated organisation. Money Laundering Reporting Officers and Nominated Officers who also carry responsibility for fraud, bribery and market abuse risk, as is common in smaller firms. In-house counsel, risk managers, internal auditors, and second line teams whose work intersects with financial crime obligations. Senior managers and board members who need to understand the corporate criminal liability picture and what is now expected of them personally. Programme directors and transformation leads scoping financial crime work, including build, remediation, and integration with adjacent compliance programmes.
Jurisdiction reference
Primary frameworks covered
The course is UK led. The principal frameworks covered across the nine sessions are summarised below. New Zealand and Australian equivalents are addressed in each session where relevant, with depth scaled to the extent the regime diverges from the UK position.
Each session is published as both a PDF, available from the Courses page, and a web page for on screen reading.
For other practitioner material across AML, transformation and risk, and information security and data privacy, visit russelfielding.com.