High Court sets scene for bigger corporate penalties

Michael PellyLegal editor

Aug 2, 2023 – 6.07pm

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The High Court has opened the door to tougher penalties for corporate offending after rejecting a fine of $1.35 million for engineering firm Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) in a foreign bribery case.

The court on Wednesday said the “benefit” that SKM received from projects in Vietnam and the Philippines had been drastically understated at $2.8 million, and was actually $10.1 million.

Michael Pelly is the legal editor, based in our Sydney newsroom. He has been a senior adviser to federal and state attorneys-general and written two books, one a biography of former High Court Chief Justice Murray Gleeson.