Corporate fraud cases can take an interminably long time to come to court in the United Kingdom, and the success rate for prosecuting major companies is decidedly mixed. But it looks as though the Serious Fraud Office (SFO)—the country’s main enforcement body—is prepared to continue with its case against the former bosses of supermarket giant Tesco after its first trial collapsed.
In March, the SFO issued a short 32-word statement to say that it is seeking a retrial of three ex-Tesco executives for alleged fraud offences committed between February and September 2014. The fraud squad began its investigation into the retailer shortly after the company came clean in 2014 and charged the three former directors in September 2016.
