SFO closes investigation into Texan engineering company KBR’s UK subsidiary March 18, 2021 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has closed its bribery and corruption investigation into KBR’s UK subsidiary after four years. In a statement today the SFO said: “The evidence in this case did not meet the evidential test as defined in the code for crown prosecutors.” KBR, a Texan engineering, procurement and construction company listed on [...]
UK fraud office launches review after director implicated in Unaoil scandal July 14, 2020 The UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said yesterday it would launch a review after its head was rebuked by a London judge for being vulnerable to flattery from a freelance agent during a high-profile bribery investigation into oil consultancy Unaoil. Judge Martin Beddoe said SFO head Lisa Osofsky and senior colleagues had “taken the bait” [...]
Legal firms call for reform of Serious Fraud Office after ex-Barclays execs acquitted February 28, 2020 Law firms have called for reform of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) today after three former Barclays executives were cleared of financial crisis-era fraud to save the bank. Roger Jenkins, Thomas Kalaris and Richard Boath were all acquitted of charges of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation in connection with the 2008 Qatar fundraisings. [...]
Is the SFO giving executives an easy ride in bribery cases? February 25, 2020 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has developed a lucrative model of targeting large companies in bribery and corruption cases, striking a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) to suspend criminal charges and extracting a sizeable financial penalty. Last month, the SFO agreed a €991m (£831m) DPA with planemaker Airbus as part of a €3.6bn deal with prosecutors [...]
Corruption campaigners say Airbus’ €3.6bn fine may not ‘reflect the full wrongdoing’ in bribery case February 18, 2020 Corruption campaigners have questioned the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) on whether Airbus’ record €3.6bn (£3bn) fine for large scale bribery properly accounted for the wrongdoing it committed. Last month Airbus agreed to pay the mammoth fine after a joint investigation by UK, US and French authorities found the aerospace giant had paid bribes to help [...]
Air Asia chief executive Tony Fernandes denies $50m bribery claims February 4, 2020 The chief executive of Malaysian airline Air Asia Tony Fernandes today denied allegations he was paid a $50m (£38m) bribe via his Formula 1 team by aircraft giant Airbus. Prosecutors alleged Airbus paid a bribe of $50m through sponsorship of the now-defunct Caterham F1 team which was owned by Fernandes to win orders from Air [...]
Airbus agrees to pay record €991m UK fine in €3.6bn global bribery settlement January 31, 2020 A London court today approved a record €991m (£833m) fine for Airbus in exchange for suspending the prosecution of alleged bribery. The deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) was part of a €3.6bn global deal agreed with prosecutors in the UK, US and France. Airbus has agreed to pay France €2.08bn and the US €525m to bring [...]
Airbus set to agree £3bn fine tomorrow to settle corruption probe January 30, 2020 European plane maker Airbus’s £3bn plea deal with prosecutors is expected to be approved in court tomorrow, settling a long running corruption probe. The deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) between the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Airbus has been agreed in principle and is set to be approved by the President of the Queen’s Bench Division [...]
Oligarch’s daughter found guilty of failing to hand over documents in corruption case January 30, 2020 Anna Machkevitch, the daughter of a billionaire oligarch, was today found guilty of failing to hand over documents to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in connection with a massive corruption investigation. She was found guilty of failing to supply documents required by the SFO under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act. She was ordered [...]
Watchdog tells firms to go ‘above and beyond’ law to co-operate in investigations August 6, 2019 The fraud watchdog has told firms they will need to go “above and beyond what the law requires” if they want to co-operate with its investigations. Guidance of corporate co-operation released by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) states that firms need to be willing to identify any individuals suspected of wrongdoing “regardless of their seniority [...]