In this article Shula de Jersey and Matt Davies provide a brief mid-year update looking at what the Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) has achieved so far this year and what is on its plate for the rest of the year.
With the SFO operating under a shadow cast by the independent reviews being conducted by Sir David Calvert-Smith and Brian Altman QC, BCL partner Richard Sallybanks and senior associate Anoushka Warlow look at where next for the beleaguered agency.
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.
BCL senior associate Alex Swan discusses 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.
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.
BCL senior associate Tom McNeill has been published by FinCrime Report discussing the Cum-Ex trading scandal and difficulties in proving collusion between different parties.