• Entain PLC has been fined £632 million between 2020 and 2024
• Only Airbus has been fined more by UK authorities during that time period by
• Entain PLC also has the second highest individual fine, issued for a bribery violation

A new study by Protecht, suppliers of risk management software and solutions, has revealed the heaviest fined companies in the UK.

Using data from the Good Jobs First Violation Tracker, Protecht analysed over 36,000 corporate fines from 2020 – 2024, to discover which companies had recorded the biggest losses due to corporate offenses.

The research found that Entain PLC has been fined £632 million across four offences. This is the second highest sum of fines during the five year period analysed, behind only Airbus’ £1 billion.

Entain PLC has also been issued with the second highest penalty by UK authorities between 2020 and 2024. In 2023, the sports betting company were fined a total of £615 million for a bribery offence.

Entain PLC has recorded the second biggest losses in corporate fines

Protecht’s study analysed which companies had incurred the highest sum of corporate fines issued by UK authorities between 2020 and 2024, revealing that Airbus has the unfortunate distinction of accumulating the most losses in corporate fines. The airline manufacturer has been penalised three times, with all of their fines adding up to more than £1 billion.

Airbus was fined £991 million by the UK Serious Fraud Office that covered five counts of failure to prevent bribery[1], which also included a fine of €2.1 billion to French authorities, and $587 million to the US DoJ. This is the largest fine issued by UK authorities in the 2020’s.

Airbus was also fined £30.3 million in 2021 when Airbus subsidiary GPT pleaded guilty to corruption between December 2008 and July 2010 in relation to contracts awarded to GPT in respect of work carried out for the Saudi Arabian National Guard[2], along with a £56,000 fine for unfair dismissal of an employee[3].

Entain PLC has the second largest fine bill. The international sports betting and gambling company has been fined £632 million by UK authorities across four different offences during the five year period analysed.

The second highest fine of the 2020’s was issued by HMRC to Entain PLC, also for a bribery violation. Entain agreed to pay £585 million in penalties and disgorgement of profits, make a charitable donation of £20 million, and pay costs of £10 million, in a Deferred Prosecution Agreement which alleged failures by the company to have adequate procedures to prevent bribery at its former Turkish gambling operations[4].

Entain Group was also fined £17 million in 2022 after the Gambling Commission ruled that the company breached its anti-money laundering and social responsibility requirements with a lack of alerts and monitoring of customers at its online business, including Ladbrokes, Coral, and Foxy Bingo, and at its Ladbrokes gambling premises[5].

Entain have also paid £23,594 across two labour standards violations for unfair dismissal[6][7]. The average fine per offence for Entain of £158 million is the third highest, behind only Airbus and Glencore.

Protecht’s study also found that sports betting is the fourth most heavily fined industry. Sports betting brands have been fined £633 million, the vast majority of which has been paid by Entain PLC. The top thee most heavily fined industries are aerospace & military contracting at £1 billion, banking & securities at £822 million, and banking with £698 million.

Link Fund Solutions has only committed one offence between 2020 and 2024, but that fine was the third biggest issued by UK authorities, putting them in third place. In 2024, the company that provides retirement planning services agreed to pay restitution to investors in the LF Woodford Equity Income Fund of £298 million. The FCA findings determined that Link failed to act with due care and diligence in its role as Authorised Corporate Director for the LF Woodford Equity Income Fund, which was shut down in 2019[8].

Credit Suisse has the fourth highest financial losses due to corporate offences, and the fourth largest individual fine. The Swiss global investment bank that has now been acquired by UBS, was fined £292.2 million in 2021 by The Financial Conduct Authority for serious financial crime due diligence failings related to loans worth over $1.3 billion, which the bank arranged for the Republic of Mozambique. FCA said these loans, and a bond exchange, were tainted by corruption[9].

Rounding off the top five is Glencore. Although the commodity trading and mining company has only been fined for one offence, it was the fifth highest fine issued. Glencore Energy UK Ltd was convicted on charges of bribery brought against it by the Serious Fraud Office, and sentenced to pay £281 million after the company admitted to multiple counts of paying bribes to secure access to oil and generate illicit profit[10].

Of the top 10 companies with the highest sum of fines, NatWest Group PLC has the highest number of individual offences at eight. The UK bank has committed four violations with fines over £1 million, including the sixth largest fine overall when they pleaded guilty to three offences of failing to comply with money laundering regulations by accepting £365 million in cheques and cash from a commercial customer with suspicious behaviour that was not acted upon and was not spotted by an incorrect automated transaction monitoring system[11].

Also in the 10 most heavily fined companies at seventh is Intas Pharmaceuticals Ltd. The Indian multinational pharmaceutical company was fined £260 million for overcharging the NHS by inflating prices of hydrocortisone tablets by Auden Mckenzie and Actavis UK[12].  

In eighth place is H20 AM LLP. The independent asset management company was issued with a £213 million fine for an investor protection violation, the seventh largest individual fine[13].

Virgin Group has the ninth highest sum of fines with £203 million over five offences, including the eighth largest overall penalty in refunds to Virgin Holidays customers whose package holidays were cancelled due to coronavirus[14].

Rounding off the top 10 is National Grid who has committed six violations resulting in £178 million worth of fines, the most expensive of which was when National Grid Electricity Transmission plc and Scottish Power Transmission plc agreed to pay a £158 million consumer redress package following a finding by Ofgem that delays to the Western Link Project and a resulting lack of capacity to deliver renewable electricity led to higher costs for customers[15].

Protecht’s VP of Risk & Compliance, Jared Siddle, commented on the findings of the study:

“Corporate fines aren’t just a cost of doing business, they’re signals of systemic risk and governance breakdowns. Our analysis reveals patterns of repeat violations that point to deeper operational and cultural issues. Companies that fail to embed risk awareness and accountability at every level ultimately expose themselves to reputational, financial, and legal fallout. Effective risk management isn’t about box-ticking, it’s about building integrity into the core of business operations.”