Serious Fraud

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

14th May 2021
Alex Swan, Bribery, Corruption and SFO Investigations, 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
Bribery, Corruption and SFO Investigations, 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
Bribery, Corruption and SFO Investigations, 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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Harry Travers and John Binns write for Fraud Intelligence and Euronews on SFO Barclays Execs Acquittal

4th March 2020
Bribery, Corruption and SFO Investigations, Harry Travers, John Binns, News, News & Insights, Serious Fraud
BCL partners John Binns and Harry Travers’ article analysing the dramatic acquittal of all three senior Barclays executives last week has been published by both Euronews and Fraud Intelligence, discussing what went wrong with the case and why it matters for the SFO.

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