City beware: The Serious Fraud Office has got its mojo back December 3, 2015 There have been times when the performance of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has left many, especially those in the City, with the impression that it is not fit for the purpose for which it was designed. Critics have had no shortage of ammunition: the SFO’s history is littered with controversy, criticism and setbacks. The [...]
M&G chief explodes bombshell in pay debate December 3, 2015 Campaigners against high boardroom pay might balk at the notion of taking advice from a City grandee who landed a package worth £5.4m last year – but Michael McLintock is worth hearing out. McLintock, chief executive of the £250bn asset manager M&G Investments, has floated an idea whose explosiveness is only exacerbated by his status. During [...]
Sweett Group: Property surveyors admits Middle East bribery in relation to an SFO case into its activities in the United Arab Emirates December 2, 2015 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has today revealed that Sweett Group has admitted to a bribery offence. The SFO opened an investigation into the property surveyors in July 2014, regarding its activities in Middle East, particularly the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In Sweett Group’s interim results statement, which was also published today, chief executive Douglas [...]
Judge approves Britain’s first ever deferred prosecution agreement in Serious Fraud Office bribery case involving Tanzanian division of ICBC Standard Bank November 30, 2015 Britain’s first deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) has been approved today in a bribery case involving ICBC Standard Bank and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). A DPA is a type of plea deal where legal proceedings against a company are suspended in return for other conditions, such as agreeing to pay a fine. The London division [...]
Libor trial: Former ICAP broker Darrell Read said “barrow boy” brokers get ignored by bankers November 17, 2015 A former ICAP broker accused of Libor rigging told a London court yesterday that brokers have too low a status to affect bankers' decision making. At the opening of the defence's case in the second London Libor trial, Darrell Read told the jury that brokers are routinely ignored by bankers when it comes to setting [...]
Serious Fraud Office drops Olympus case November 10, 2015 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) today dropped its case into Gyrus Group, a British subsidiary of Japanese camera maker Olympus, after the Court of Appeal decided in February that misleading auditors is not a criminal offence under English law. At a hearing today, the UK's fraud prosecutors said that they would offer no evidence, ending the case. The [...]
Quindell share price falls as shareholders get £415m payout after deal with Slater & Gordon November 2, 2015 Quindell shareholders haven’t had a lot to smile about recently, but today the troubled insurance claims processor announced they would be rewarded with a £415m payout. The company, currently under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) for its “aggressive” accounting practices, has had legal claims brought against it by a group believed to be [...]
Libor rate scandal: Trial of six brokers charged with rigging rates could go on for 14 weeks October 6, 2015 Brokers with nicknames like “Lord Libor” were “willing” and “enthusiastic” participants in the Libor manipulation scheme, prosecutors told the jury in the first day of a trial focusing on the brokers’ alleged role in the rate-rigging scandal. Former ICAP employees Darrell Read and Colin Goodman are among the brokers that stand accused of helping jailed [...]
Round 2: Trial of six brokers accused of Libor rate-rigging begins in London today October 6, 2015 Six brokers accused of Libor rigging will see their trial begin in London today and could face decades in jail as the second instalment of the Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) war on financial misconduct gets underway. The six brokers – who have worked at ICAP, RP Martin and Tullett Prebon – are charged with [...]
The Bank of England is being probed by the Serious Fraud Office over liquidity auctions during the financial crisis September 29, 2015 The Bank of England (BoE) is being probed by UK investigators over whether the central bank's emergency auctions held during the onset of the global financial crisis were rigged. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is looking into whether banks and building societies were told to offer roughly the same amount of collateral, meaning no lender would [...]