CPS offers plea deals to Entain suspects before deciding on charges

06 October 2024 , 10:16

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CPS offers plea deals to Entain suspects before deciding on charges

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has offered plea discussions with suspects from Entain as it gears up to make charging decisions by the end of the year.

The CPS issued letters to a number of individuals about potentially pleading guilty, following its probe into an alleged bribery at a former Turkish subsidiary, the Financial Times reported.

This comes as the prosecutor is set to make charging decisions for suspects from the owner of Ladbrokes and Coral bookmakers as soon as the end of the year.

The gambling giant has been in the limelight after HMRC followed activities at a Turkish-facing business that Entain sold in 2017.

The probe resulted in the group signing a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the CPS, agreeing to a £585m fine, the first non-Serious Fraud Office DPA conducted.

DPA’s involve companies reaching an agreement with a prosecutor, where the company is charged with a criminal offence but proceedings are automatically suspended, after the company agrees to a number of conditions.

The group also provided £20m to charity and cover HMRC’s costs with a £10m payment.

However, following news of the DPA, the company’s shares fell down in value.

This resulted in the gaming giant being threatened with legal action in August, after law firm Fox Williams issued civil proceedings on behalf of a group of institutional investors.

James Smith