The Attorney General’s Office today announced that Mark Thompson, currently chief operating officer at the Serious Fraud Office, will be appointed director on an interim basis pending the next permanent director becoming available. Thompson will assume this interim role on 21 April 2018.  

David Green will leave the SFO on 20 April, when his term ends, after six years as director. Green has overseen major successes and breakthroughs over recent years, including six convictions for rate rigging offences, the first SFO conviction after trial of a corporate entity for offences involving bribery of foreign officials, and obtaining a number of high-profile deferred prosecution agreements.

The Attorney General’s Office has identified a successful candidate for the director role, whose identity has not yet been released. “We will make an announcement in due course, and the new director will take up the role later this year,” the SFO stated.

“The search for a new director has been successful, although the individual cannot take up the post immediately,” Thompson said. “In the meantime it’s important that the SFO pursues its cases with vigour and discharges its legal and corporate obligations responsibly. My role will be to ensure we continue to do this, and to ensure a smooth transition when the new director arrives.”

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