Corporate offenders found to be engaged in foreign bribery are likely to face higher penalties after the High Court unanimously upheld an appeal in its August 2023 decision in The King v Jacobs Group (Australia) Pty Ltd. The decision is a win for the CDPP which presented arguments before the High Court. The appeal focused on the Court’s interpretation of s70.2(5)(b) of the Criminal Code (Cth) and held that the maximum penalty must be set with reference to the gross value of the benefit obtained from the offending, as opposed to the net value after the expense of the offending was offset. The ruling is also likely to affect calculating penalties under s70.2(5) of the Criminal Code in a range of cases pursuant to the Corporations Act and the Competition and Consumer Act, including cartel conduct, misleading or deceptive conduct, market manipulation and insider trading.

Wade Homewood engaged in terrorism offences for almost 3 years, motivated by right wing extremism. He was investigated, arrested and charged with terrorism offences contrary to s80.2C(1) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth), and a firearms offence contrary to s40(1) of the Firearms Act 1996 (NSW).

Date of Judgment: 23 August 2023

Court: County Court of Victoria at Melbourne