5/19/23 | SFO Fraud Report UK
'SFO' stands for 'SERIOUS FRAUD OFFICE'....very serious
Serious Fraud Office (SFO)
is a non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom that investigates and prosecutes serious or complex fraud and corruption in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The SFO is accountable to the Attorney General for England and Wales, and was established by the Criminal Justice Act 1987,[2] an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act 1987 grants the SFO powers to require any person (or business/bank) to provide any relevant documents (including confidential ones) and answer any relevant questions including ones about confidential matters. The SFO is the principal enforcer of the Bribery Act 2010, which has been designed to encourage good corporate governance and enhance the reputation of the City of London and the UK as a safe place to do business. Its jurisdiction does not extend to Scotland where fraud and corruption are investigated by Police Scotland through their Specialist Crime Division, and prosecutions are undertaken by the Economic Crime Unit of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.
Formation of the unit
During the 1970s and early 1980s a series of financial scandals in the City of London destroyed the public's trust in the way serious or complex frauds were handled. In response to this the Government established the Fraud Trials Committee in 1983. This independent committee, under the chairmanship of Lord Roskill, considered how changes to the law and criminal proceedings could lead to more effective ways of fighting fraud. The committee report, commonly known as the Roskill Report[3] was published in 1986. Its main recommendation was to set up a new, unified organisation responsible for detecting, investigating and prosecuting serious fraud cases.[4] As a result, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and its unique powers were created by the Criminal Justice Act 1987, "an Act to make further provision for the investigation of and trials for fraud; and for connected purposes".[5] It opened for business in April 1988.[6] The SFO also enforces the Bribery Act 2010.[7]
List of directors
John Wood CB (1988–1990)
Dame Barbara Mills QC (1990–1992)
George Staple CB QC (1992–1997)
Rosalind Wright CB QC (1997–2003)
Robert Wardle (2003–2008)
Richard Alderman (2008–2012)
Sir David Green CB QC (2012–2018)
Lisa Osofsky (2018– 2023)
Nick Ephgrave QPM (2023-present)
Activities and responsibilities
The SFO is a specialist organisation that investigates only the most serious types of economic crime. As a result, a potential case must meet certain criteria before it is taken on. In deciding, the Director will take into account all the circumstances of the case and consider:
cases which undermine British commercial/financial PLC in general and the City of London in particular;
cases where the actual or potential loss involved are high;
cases where actual or potential harm is significant;
cases where there is a very significant public interest element; and
new species of fraud
The Serious Fraud Office's jurisdiction does not extend to Scotland where fraud and corruption are investigated by Police Scotland through their Specialist Crime Division, and prosecutions are undertaken by the Economic Crime Unit of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.[31]