Serious Fraud

SFO agrees tenth Deferred Prosecution Agreement – Alex Swan writes for Fraud Intelligence

19th July 2021
Alex Swan, News, News & Insights, Serious Fraud
An extended version of senior associate Alex Swan’s article ‘SFO agrees tenth Deferred Prosecution Agreement – good money, but do they work?‘ has been published by Fraud Intelligence, discussing the announcement by the Serious Fraud Office that Amec Foster Wheeler Energy will pay a £103m penalty in a Deferred Prosecution Agreement to settle corruption allegations.

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Another bad day for the Serious Fraud Office – but what are the broader implications?

14th May 2021
Alex Swan, Insights, News & Insights, Richard Sallybanks, Serious Fraud
On 26 April the SFO’s prosecution of two former directors of Serco Geografix Ltd (“SGL”) collapsed. Unsurprisingly this case has re-ignited questions as to whether the SFO is fit for purpose, but it also shines a light – again – on the contrast between the SFO’s ability to secure lucrative Deferred Prosecution Agreements (“DPAs”) with corporate suspects and its inability to secure convictions of the individuals whose conduct underlies the DPA.

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SFO use ‘listed asset’ provisions for the first time

25th September 2020
Insights, Jonathan Flynn, News & Insights, Serious Fraud
It was announced on Wednesday that the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has recovered half a million pounds worth of jewellery from a safe deposit box under the listed asset provisions of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA). The forfeiture is part of a civil recovery investigation arising from the Birmingham Mortgage Fraud case: a £50 million fraud investigation/prosecution that began in March 2006.[1]

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Emerging from COVID-19: an opportunity for prosecutors?

14th June 2020
FCA Investigations, Greta Barkle, Insights, Jonathan Flynn, News & Insights, Serious Fraud
Criminal lawyers are always asked by their clients how long they think an investigation or prosecution into allegedly serious offending will take. Even before the outbreak of COVID-19, in a justice system crippled by budget cuts and beset with inefficiencies, the answer would nearly always be measured in years.

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