Individuals continue to face risk from prosecutions for economic crime, despite media focus on corporate criminal liability reforms. By Stuart Alford KC, Mair Williams, and Matthew Unsworth Four individuals have today appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court charged with fraud in connection with the collapse of UK café and bakery chain, Patisserie Valerie.[i] This follows a … Continue Reading
Landmark decision holds that the SFO does not have the power to procure documents from foreign companies outside the jurisdiction. By Stuart Alford QC and Callum Rodgers On 5 February 2021, the UK Supreme Court handed down a highly significant judgment in R (on the application of KBR, Inc) v Director of the Serious Fraud … Continue Reading
Guidance sets out the SFO’s expectations for investigations but leaves open questions, particularly for cross-border investigations. By Stuart Alford QC, Nathan H. Seltzer, Christopher M. Ting, and Harriet Slater On 6 August 2019, the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) issued its much-anticipated Corporate Cooperation Guidance (the Guidance) outlining, in substantial detail, the steps that the … Continue Reading
New SFO Director reaffirms her intentions and priorities for the agency. By Stuart Alford QC, Nathan Seltzer, and Christopher Ting Fifty days have passed since Lisa Osofsky took over at the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO), pledging to be a “different kind” of director. In her first days, Osofsky set out her priorities for the … Continue Reading
New director Lisa Osofsky confirms her focus on cross-border and corporate cooperation. By Stuart Alford QC, Nate Seltzer, and Clare Nida On 3 September 2018, in her first speech, after only one week as head of the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Lisa Osofsky laid out her plans for the agency. Upon announcement of her appointment, … Continue Reading
New director Lisa Osofsky’s cross-border and corporate experience may lead the SFO in a fresh direction. By Stuart Alford QC and Clare Nida The announcement that Lisa Osofsky has been appointed as Director of the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) likely signals new strategic directions for the agency. For the past six years, the SFO … Continue Reading
By Stuart Alford QC, Daniel Smith and James Fagan “Privilege is a fundamental human right guaranteed by the common law, and a principle which is central to the administration of justice. Once a document is subject to privilege, the privilege is absolute: it cannot be overridden by some countervailing rule of public policy”. These dicta … Continue Reading
By Dan Smith On November 26, 2015, the UK Serious Fraud Office secured its first Deferred Prosecution Agreement against UK-based ICBC Standard Bank Plc for failure to prevent one of its sister companies from bribing Government of Tanzania officials, an offence under Section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010 (the “Failure Offence”). Standard Bank agreed … Continue Reading
