All Serious Fraud Office articles
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SFO’s Balli Steel win latest to leverage international cooperation
The Serious Fraud Office secured the convictions of two executives at failed British steel trading business Balli Steel on six counts of fraud. Legal experts examine whether “record-breaking” international cooperation in the case served as a crutch for the U.K. regulator.
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Glencore Energy’s $324M fine for bribery comes with warning to others
Glencore Energy UK was ordered to pay nearly £281 million (U.S. $314 million) in fines and costs after an investigation by the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) found it paid $29 million in bribes to gain preferential access to oil in Africa to boost profits.
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HBOS case latest example of U.K. senior exec accountability woes
The Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority ending their six-year investigations into former senior managers at HBOS without enforcement serves as reminder of the United Kingdom’s checkered history of bringing executives to book.
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SFO accepts ‘sobering’ results of Unaoil, Serco case reviews
The U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office was criticized for its leadership, culture, and conduct in a report examining why the agency botched a key corruption case against Unaoil that has now seen three convictions overturned.
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Law firm Dechert, SFO criticized in ENRC case ruling
A High Court judge found the U.K. Serious Fraud Office induced a lawyer from Dechert acting for Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. to provide it with privileged and unauthorized information.
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Glencore fined $1B, placed under 3-year monitorship for FCPA violations
Glencore International AG, one of the world’s largest commodity traders, will be placed under a three-year compliance monitorship and pay more than $1 billion to resolve multiple investigations into alleged bribes paid in several countries over more than a decade.
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SFO dealt blow after second Unaoil conviction overturned
The U.K. Serious Fraud Office was dealt another blow after Paul Bond, a former sales manager at Dutch energy services company SBM Offshore, had his 42-month jail sentence overturned because the agency failed to disclose vital evidence in its Unaoil case.
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SFO probing Arena Television collapse
The U.K. Serious Fraud Office announced an ongoing criminal investigation into the business practices of individuals associated with collapsed outside broadcast company Arena Television and its linked entities.
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Attorney general turns up heat on SFO with probe into Unaoil lapses
The U.K. attorney general is carrying out a review into why—and how—the Serious Fraud Office managed to botch a bribery investigation into Unaoil that saw one of the oil and gas consultancy’s former executives have his conviction overturned.
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SFO integrity questioned after Unaoil conviction overturned
The Serious Fraud Office will be investigated by the U.K. Attorney General’s Office after a court said the agency denied a convicted former oil and gas executive the right to a fair trial.
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Petrofac fine fallout: Penalty too light for SFO to claim success?
Petrofac’s relatively low penalty for multiple bribery offenses might encourage companies to take their chances when faced with the choice of a possible criminal conviction or cutting a deal with the Serious Fraud Office, legal experts warn.
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Petrofac to pay $105M for widespread bribery scheme
Petrofac was ordered to pay £77 million (U.S. $105 million) to conclude a long-running investigation into allegations company executives paid to win lucrative oil contracts in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
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SFO strikes out again in Serco execs case
Two former executives at security company Serco were acquitted of defrauding the U.K.’s Ministry of Justice after the Serious Fraud Office failed to disclose documents to the defense.
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SFO closes bribery investigation into KBR’s U.K. subsidiaries
The Serious Fraud Office announced it closed its bribery and corruption investigation into the activities of KBR’s British subsidiaries and employees, weeks after the U.K. Supreme Court unanimously ruled the agency breached its authority in the case.
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John Wood Group earmarks $197M for global bribery settlement
Scotland-based multienergy services company John Wood Group is in “advanced stage” settlement talks with authorities in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Brazil regarding legacy bribery and corruption investigations.
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U.K.’s SFO slapped down over attempts to flout jurisdiction rules
In another blow to the agency’s credibility, the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office cannot attempt to force foreign companies to hand over evidence held overseas, according to a recent court ruling.
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Airline Services Ltd to pay $3.9M, agrees to DPA in bribery case
The U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office has levied penalties worth nearly £3 million (U.S. $3.9 million) against defunct aircraft refurbishing company Airline Services Limited for violating the country’s anti-bribery laws.
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U.K.’s SFO lays out expectations in new DPA guidance
The U.K. Serious Fraud Office has published its latest internal guidance on the threshold companies must meet before they are offered a deferred prosecution agreement.
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SFO secures two Unaoil convictions, but judge critical of director
Following a four-year investigation, the U.K. Serious Fraud Office has secured convictions against two former Unaoil executives for bribes made to win oil services contracts in Iraq, although the presiding judge ordered a review into how SFO Director Lisa Osofsky led the case.
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G4S reaches proposed deferred prosecution agreement with SFO
A U.K. subsidiary of G4S has reached a proposed deferred prosecution agreement with the Serious Fraud Office to resolve an investigation into fraudulent contract activity with the U.K. Ministry of Justice.