Former Serco boss calls for abolition of Serious Fraud Office May 10, 2021 A former Serco executive who was cleared of defrauding taxpayers by hiding millions of pounds in profits has called for the abolition of the white collar crime agency that pursued him. Simon Marshall, who was acquitted last month, said the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) did not have “anything to do with justice” and should be [...]
Serious Fraud Office ends investigation into Airbus individuals May 4, 2021 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has ended a criminal investigation into individuals associated with Airbus, after it agreed to a record €3.6bn global settlement 16 months ago. Three sources familiar with the investigation told Reuters the SFO had written to former suspects to say it would take no further action. Overseas prosecutors could, however, take [...]
Man forced out of job after 40 years while battling cancer wins £2.5m payout April 29, 2021 Former KBR employee David Barrow has been awarded more than £2.5m after his employer’s decision to dismiss him for discriminatory reasons. Barrow, 64, won his claims for unfair dismissal, harassment and unfavourable treatment after he was let go from KBR, a Texas-based engineering and infrastructure company. The decision was made at a London employment tribunal. [...]
Serco wins new jobseekers contract worth £350m April 27, 2021 Serco has this morning announced a £350m contract with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to help find unemployed people new jobs. Shares in the firm rose 3.0 per cent on the back of the announcement. The FTSE 250 services provider will run the West central and Wales contracts for the “Restart” programme, which [...]
Serco tagging trial falls through after SFO declines to offer evidence April 26, 2021 Two former Serco executives have been cleared of defrauding the Ministry of Justice after the SFO declined to offer evidence. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) brought claims against Nicholas Woods and Simon Marshall, who were accused of “defrauding the taxpayer” by concealing £12m in profits related to an electronic tagging contract for offenders. Today a [...]
Buy2Let Cars parent company under investigation by serious fraud watchdog April 9, 2021 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has launched an investigation this morning into the Buy2Let Cars parent company Raedex Consortium for an unauthorised customer investment scheme. The SFO, the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the City of London police searched two premises in connection to the scheme and arrested one person yesterday. The person was interviewed [...]
Tobacco stocks in the red on UK’s £40m cigarette butt cleaning plan March 30, 2021 Tobacco stocks slipped into the red today after the government unveiled plans to slap manufacturers with the £40m annual cost of cleaning up cigarette butts. In a statement this morning junior environment minister Rebecca Pow said the UK was looking at how tobacco firms could be “held fully accountable for the unsightly scourge of litter [...]
Goldman Sachs junior staff slam bank’s ‘inhumane’ 100-hour working weeks March 18, 2021 Junior bankers at Goldman Sachs claimed they have suffered ‘inhumane’ treatment and workplace abuse, leading to a deterioration in mental health while employed by the US investment bank. A survey circulated on Twitter today that was presented to the bank last month, showed that all of the 13 respondents felt their working hours had negatively [...]
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 [...]
Wood Group axes final dividend as oil service firm swings to loss March 16, 2021 Engineers Wood Group this morning said it would not pay a final dividend after falling to a £228m loss in 2020. The FTSE 250 firm, which provides services for the oil industry, was battered by the collapse in oil prices last spring. As a result, it swung from a profit of £73m in 2019 to [...]