Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) is advising ICBC Standard Bank on the UK's first ever plea deal with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).

The bank has agreed to enter into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the regulator, which has received provisional approval from the court. A full hearing is due to take place on Monday.

The deal is the first DPA to be reached with the SFO since the plea bargaining system was introduced last year.

HSF is acting for Standard Bank with a team led by white collar crime partner Rod Fletcher and including senior associate Ajay Malhotra. The firm has instructed Cloth Fair Chambers' QC Nicholas Purnell.

The SFO is handling the case with its in-house team, led by general counsel Alun Milford. The regulator has instructed Edward Garnier QC, from One Brick Court; Crispin Aylett QC, from QEB Hollis Whiteman; and Allison Clare, from Red Lion Chambers .

DPAs, which are heavily used in the US, allow self-reporting companies to strike a deal with the SFO to admit wrongdoing and pay a fine, rather than face the uncertainty of a criminal prosecution.

They are viewed by many legal advisers as the primary means by which the US achieves its robust levels of enforcement in white collar investigations.

Speaking to Legal Week in July SFO director David Green said he expected at least two DPAs to be reached before the end of 2015.

He said: "We – the SFO, the Bribery Act industry and the City white collar fraud industry – need to build up some precedent so that everyone understands what the offer [under a DPA] is. I anticipate at least two DPAs before the end of this year.

"This will enable people to see what the offer is. I don't think people yet realise just how high the bar is."