BRITISH companies will be able to admit bribery offences in return for more lenient sentences under a plea bargain-style system to be put forward by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) this week.

Richard Alderman, who took over as director of the SFO three months ago, is expected to unveil a consultation on the future of the agency.

One of the key proposals will be a plea-bargain arrangement for corruption cases similar to that operated by America’s Department of Justice.

The SFO hopes the reform will speed up the handling of corruption cases.

The agency has been criticised for the slow processing of cases and a low conviction rate.

Last year, it made an embarrassing climbdown when it decided to abandon a corruption investigation into BAE Systems, the defence contractor.

The SFO had spent three years probing the Al-Yamamah arms deal under which BAE provided arms to Saudi Arabia.

The consultation document will draw on a recent report by Jessica de Grazia, a former US prosecutor.

De Grazia was asked to look into the effectiveness of the British body, and compare its work with similar agencies in America.

Her study foundthat “the SFO uses significantly more resources per case than its New York counterparts and achieves significantly less for its efforts”.

In some cases, the differences were “startling”, De Grazia said.

City lawyers said that companies were likely to approve of moves to make investigations shorter.

“Although they will want to see the detail, businesses will in general welcome proposals that speed up the process,” said Adam Vause, senior associate at the City law firm Norton Rose.

“Having an SFO investigation hanging over you takes up management time and can affect shareholder sentiment,” he added.

While regarded as a peculiarity of American law, plea bargaining is already part of the British legal system. The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act of 2005 allows for those who are cooperating with prosecutors to be given immunity or reduced sentences.

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