SFO
 SFO     | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parent organization | UK, UK/Home Office |
| Headquarters | 2-4 Cockspur Street, London, SW1Y 5BS |
| Leader | SFO/Director |
| Type |  police |
| Staff | 300 |
| Subpage | •SFO/Director |
The UK Serious Fraud Office.
Contents
Origins
The SFO was created by the Criminal Justice Act 1987, passed after the 1986 Roskill Report (created in response to "public outrage" about the rate of white collar fraud in the 1980s) recommended creation of a standalone body to tackle high level fraud.[1]
Activities
The SFO has "assume[d] the role of “chief enforcer” of the Bribery Act 2010".[1]
Al-Yamamah arms deal investigation
In 2004, the Serious Fraud Office began an investigation into the Al-Yamamah arms deal. This was discontinued in 2006 after Tony Blair intervened, claiming that relations with Saudi Arabia were being harmed.[2]
Sue Hawley was involved in the judicial review of the SFO after it dropped allegations of corruption involving BAE Systems in Saudi Arabia.[3]
"Lost the tapes"
Reminiscent of the BBC's cry about why it couldn't give more details on its premature announcement of the destruction of WTC7, the SFO has stated that some time between May and October 2012 it "lost" 32,000 pages of documents and 81 audio tapes linked to a bribery probe into BAE's al-Yamamah deal with Saudi Arabia.[2]
Trial of Asil Nadir
Shortly after the 2012 trial of Asil Nadir, Sean O'Neill of The Times revealed that the Serious Fraud Office had lost several crates of evidence relating to the Nadir case.[4]
Libor manipulation case
"The SFO arrested and prosecuted 13 individuals in connection with the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) manipulation scheme. Ultimately, it only secured four convictions and one guilty plea... The English Court of Appeal characterized this “an embarrassing debacle” for the SFO."[1]
2011 Tchenguiz brothers' case
In March 2011, the SFO arrested of Vincent and Robert Tchenguiz, real estate developers, on the charge that they fraudulently obtaining a £180 million loan from Icelandic bank Kaupthing just prior to its collapse in 2008, a case that hit trouble after "factual errors"[5] in the search warrants. Eventually the case was dropped, leading to a counter prosecution for trespass, false imprisonment, malfeasance in public office, and malicious prosecution.[1]
ENRC
The SFO formally opened a criminal investigation into ENRC Ltd in 2013, focusing on the suspected payment of bribes by the company and individuals connected to it to secure access to lucrative mining contracts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) between 2009 and 2012.
In August 2023, the SFO concluded that there was insufficient admissible evidence to prosecute, and closed the case.[6]
According to The Guardian in September 2024:
Proposed closure
In May 2017, the UK Conservative Party's manifesto contained a proposal from 2011 and 2014 to incorporate the SFO in the NCA.
Expansion
However, not only was this not carried out, but " in an about-turn by the government, the SFO has recently been empowered, financially speaking, to redouble efforts to tackle white collar fraud and corruption head on".[1] SFO funding was significantly increased.
Employees on Wikispooks
| Employee | Job | Appointed | End |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Thompson | SFO/Head of Proceeds of Crime Division | 2012 | 2016 |
| Mark Thompson | SFO/CFO | May 2015 |
Related Document
| Title | Type | Publication date | Author(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Document:The HSBC Cabal | Article | 11 October 2018 | Nicholas Wilson | HSBC paid Lisa Osofsky’s firm $200m a year to monitor the Deferred Prosecution Agreement in the US |
References
- ↑ a b c d e https://www.anticorruptionblog.com/serious-fraud-office-sfo/serious-fraud-office-boost-coffers/
- ↑ a b http://www.bbc.com/news/business-23622364
- ↑ https://www.cw-uk.org/susan-hawley
- ↑ http://asilnadirandthemedia.blogspot.com/?m=0
- ↑ https://www.ft.com/content/d93b4912-b948-11e1-b4d6-00144feabdc0
- ↑ "ENRC Ltd"
- ↑ "How oligarchs took on the UK fraud squad – and won"
