Court Clerk first person convicted under Bribery Act

Munir Yakub Patel, a former court clerk at Redbridge Magistrates’ Court, has been jailed for 6 years for accepting a bribe to avoid logging details of a parking offence on a court database. He was arrested after being secretly filmed by The Sun newspaper taking the bribe.

Patel becomes the first person in the UK to be prosecuted and convicted following the commencement of the Bribery Act in July of this year. He has been sentenced to 6 years for misconduct in a pubic office and 3 years for bribery however the 2 sentences are to run concurrently.

Belfast Criminal Solicitor Neil Logan commented:

"Due to the fact that this case involved the first person to be convicted under the Bribery Act the sentencing of Mr Patel has created a lot of interest among criminal solicitors. The Bribery Act is a new piece of legislation and the sentence handed down in this matter shows the severity with which the Courts are willing to deal with offenders. Although Mr Patel has not received the maximum 10 year sentence for his offences the sentence should send out a message to other public officials that they must operate within the confines of the Bribery Act."

If you have been accused of a criminal offence in Northern Ireland Wilson Nesbitt Solicitors provide advice and representation in both the Magistrates’ Court and Crown Court. Wilson Nesbitt Solicitors provide a 24 hour police station call-out service to all police stations in Northern Ireland. To contact one of our criminal solicitors please call us on freephone 0800 8400549 or via email at criminal@wilson-nesbitt.co.uk.

News Categories