I have a new matter for AB Office Products Limited ("AB") that I would like your help with please.

AB manufactures and sells stationery and other office supplies. My contact is the managing director, Amy Partington. Amy and her brother Bob are the only directors and shareholders of AB. It employs about 25-30 people.

In September 2019 AB took on a new sales manager, Chris Newton. Chris had a big impact and AB's profits soon began to increase. In January 2020 Chris pitched for (and won) a contract for AB to supply stationery to the local authority for all its offices. Amy and Bob were surprised to win the contract, but were of course delighted. I do not have the figures (and they are not relevant for this task), but the contract is highly lucrative and the local authority immediately became AB's biggest customer. AB paid Chris a large bonus to reflect his excellent performance.

All was going well with the contract until this week, when Amy received some troubling news. She has discovered that the only reason AB won the contract was because, during the negotiations, Chris secretly promised that if AB were chosen, he would arrange for the local authority's procurement officer to go on a free luxury holiday to the Maldives. The procurement officer went on the holiday a month after the contract was signed. The holiday was apparently provided by Chris's sister who runs her own travel agency. This has only come to light because a director of one of AB's rivals overheard Chris boasting about the arrangement at a gathering last week and notified AB. The rival company said it had reported the matter to the police.

Amy and Bob were appalled when they found out what had happened and they sacked Chris immediately. Amy does not know whether Chris will face any criminal prosecution for his actions. Amy's main concern is whether she, Bob and AB could face any criminal sanction. Amy is adamant that she and Bob knew nothing about Chris's actions at the time. It never even occurred to Amy that one of her employees could act in this way.

Please can you research and report back on these issues? If AB or its directors could face a criminal sanction, please can you look into whether there are any possible defences. Amy will also need to know whether there are any steps AB could take now to mitigate the situation.

Please do not spend time researching any penalties which may apply to Chris, or any employment issues relating to his dismissal.

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