The U.K.’s Ministry of Justice has added another tool to its arsenal – like the U.S., it intends to use Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) for cases of economic crime, following a recent consultation and the overhaul of U.K. Bribery laws in July of last year.  That overhaul replaced elderly bribery laws regarded as ineffective to prosecute modern cases.  The new Bribery Act 2011 (Act) provides a consolidated scheme of offences and, unlike the FCPA, applies to bribery in both the public and private sectors.  Law enforcement agencies in the U.K. had two main mechanisms to deal with bribery and other economic crime by companies: criminal prosecution (followed by confiscation of illicit assets), or civil recovery under legislation which enables prosecutors to make a claim against a company to recover the proceeds of criminal conduct.  DPAs will offer a third option.  In a guest article, James Maton, a partner in Edwards Wildman Palmer UK LLP’s London office, provides details about the provisions of the Act and guidance issued by the U.K., and the government’s new policy on DPAs.  A forthcoming article in the Anti-Corruption Report will address specific actions companies can take in light of this new enforcement landscape in the U.K.