UK prosecution of Mike Lynch ‘would delay justice’, court hears February 12, 2021 A criminal prosecution of Mike Lynch, the British tech entrepreneur, in the UK would result in severe delays, the US government argued today as it fought to extradite the Autonomy founder to be tried on fraud charges in America. The UK’s Serious Fraud Office has reserved the right to prosecute the case if Lynch is [...]
DAY 1: Tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch fights extradition to the US February 9, 2021 British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch began earlier today his fight against his extradition, slamming the US for “overreaching” and saying the UK authorities could prosecute the alleged fraud. Alex Bailin QC, for Lynch, said the US Department of Justice (DoJ) is “not the global marshall of the corporate world”, as he launched the former Autonomy [...]
Supreme Court curbs SFO’s global reach February 5, 2021 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has lost its case against US engineering company KBR in the Supreme Court over whether it can compel foreign businesses to hand over documents held overseas. Supreme Court Judges unanimously disagreed with a 2018 High out ruling that Section 2 notices could have extra-territorial reach. The US firm had previously [...]
Petrofac shares sink after former executive pleads guilty to $30m Abu Dhabi contracts bribe January 15, 2021 Shares in Petrofac are down 20 per cent today after its former global head of sales pleaded guilty to further bribery charges. David Lufkin pleaded guilty in Westminster Magnistrates Court to another three counts of bribery in charges brought aginst him by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). Lufkin offered and paid bribes of around $30m [...]
SFO closes investigation into British American Tobacco January 15, 2021 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has closed its investigation into British American Tobacco (BAT), its subsidiaries and associated persons. The SFO said the evidence in the case did not meet the evidential test for prosecution. According to the BBC, BAT, which owns brands Lucky Strike and Pall Mall, was under investigation over allegations it paid [...]
The Bribery Act: Ten years on January 11, 2021 This year marks ten years since the Bribery Act came into force. It was enacted in 2010 but was not active until the following year. In May 2019 a House of Lords Select Committee of which I was a member scrutinised the Bribery Act and concluded that overall it was working well. The immediate reaction from businessmen at the outset when the Bribery Bill was [...]
Bombardier faces SFO probe over Indonesia contracts November 5, 2020 The Serious Fraud Office has confirmed it is investigating aircraft manufacturer Bombardier over suspected bribery and corruption relating to contracts and orders from Garuda Indonesia. It comes after an Indonesian court sentenced Garuda Indonesia’s former chief executive, Emirsyah Satar, to prison in May for bribery and money laundering offences linked to the procurement of planes [...]
Treasury Committee demands update on bank signature forgery allegations October 15, 2020 An influential committee of MPs have demanded an update from the City watchdog and National Crime Agency on their investigation into allegations of widespread signature forgery at British banks. The Treasury Select Committee first asked the Financial Conduct Authority and NCA to investigate allegations that banks used forged signatures on an industrial scale, leading to [...]
Three former G4S executives charged with multiple counts of fraud September 8, 2020 Three former executives of a division of outsourcing firm G4S have been charged with multiple offences in relation to a multi-year scheme to defraud the Ministry of Justice. Richard Morris, former managing director of G4S Care and Justice Services and two ex-directors of its electric monitoring – Mark Preston and James Jardine – appeared at [...]
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” [...]