Serious Fraud Office (UK)

Today marks one year in post for our Director, Nicholas Ephgrave QPM and it has been an impactful one. Over the past 12 months, we have announced five new cases, including one with over 46,000 alleged victims, searched 20 sites and charged ten defendants on 27 counts of fraud, bribery & corruption offences, demonstrating our ongoing commitment to delivering justice. We have strengthened our workforce, with the recruitment of over 100 highly skilled professionals, including investigators, lawyers, and digital specialists, ensuring we are well-equipped to meet the evolving challenges of financial crime. As we reflect on the progress made since the Director’s appointment last September, we remain committed to our mission of tackling economic crime, securing justice for victims and upholding the integrity of the UK's financial system. We look forward to building on this momentum in the years to come.

“As these old cases come up, when we can identify pensions we will go after them." Our Head of Proceeds of Crime Paul Napper speaking to The Times, about the importance of following the money, even years after a successful prosecution. Napper went on to say: “It might be that the order was ten years ago but that does not stop us knocking on your door today.”   We recently recovered £295,000 from two pension funds linked to Virendra Rastogi, now known as Vareen Kumar or Veerain Kumarr, who was convicted in 2008 of operating an international metal trading scam. Since that prosecution, the SFO has recovered nearly £6 million from Rastogi. Our proceeds of crime investigation continues. Read more here: https://ow.ly/vrLC50TFsuK [paywall]

Our work doesn’t stop at conviction. We have recovered a further £295,000 from Virendra Rastogi, now known as Vareen Kumar or Veerain Kumarr, who we successfully prosecuted for an international metal trading scam 16 years ago. The money was recovered from two pension funds as part of our ongoing proceeds of crime investigation into Rastogi’s assets. Our investigation has recovered nearly £6 million to date, including from the sale of his Marylebone home and via the seizure of money and assets such as valuable watches. Rastogi was sentenced in 2008, along with two others, to nine and a half years in prison for defrauding banks around the world out of almost $700m. Our investigation is ongoing. If you have information that could assist any SFO investigation, you can contact us at: https://ow.ly/4Uy150TELMb To read more about this case, follow the link below 👇 https://ow.ly/7hwB50TELLU

"Black History Month is a timely reminder for us all to challenge our perceptions of Black history and celebrate the wide range of Black achievements – whether in arts, sciences, politics, or as with the SFO, investigating and prosecuting the most serious cases of economic crime."    - John Kielty, SFO Chief Intelligence Officer, discusses the theme of this year’s #BlackHistoryMonth, “Reclaiming Narratives". As the SFO’s Diversity and Inclusion Council Champion, John oversees our staff networks, which play a vital role in fostering an inclusive workplace. Diversity and inclusion are essential to building a stronger, more equitable organisation.     Associate General Counsel and co-chair of the SFO’s Ethnicity Culture and Heritage Network, Olutobi Odetoyinbo shared: “The BHM theme of reclaiming narratives is a great opportunity to honour and celebrate achievements that very often get overlooked and empower a future where our successes and black experiences are not silenced anymore.” 

“The SFO is the first agency in the UK to use machine learning to assist in the review of documents.” - Our Director Nick Ephgrave spoke today about ‘Prosecuting in a Digital Age’ at the International Association of Prosecutors conference in Azerbaijan.  

Happy Rosh Hashanah to those who celebrate at the SFO and around the world. 

Today at HMCPSI we are celebrating our 25th year anniversary of being the independent inspectorate of the Crown Prosecution Service and Serious Fraud Office (UK). Independent inspection is about helping improve the organisations we inspect. Over the past quarter century we have published hundreds of reports, all with the aim of making things better for those we inspect, those who work in the criminal justice system, and for victims and the public. We are proud to have been making a difference to criminal justice for 25 years.

We are pleased to announce the appointment of two new non-executive directors, Caroline Firstbrook and Simon McKinnon CB CBE FBCS to the SFO Board.  Caroline brings a wealth of experience in professional services and entrepreneurship, having served as Chief Operating Officer at the law firm Clifford Chance LLP for over seven years until 2022. She has been a Non-Executive Director at the maritime organisation Lloyd’s Register since 2015.     Simon has extensive experience in technology leadership roles in both the public and private sectors. He spent sixteen years in the public sector responsible for child maintenance, health and pensions systems. Most recently, he was Director General Digital and the Chief Digital Information Officer at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), responsible for the delivery and transformation of national benefit systems.    Commenting on today’s appointments, Nicholas Ephgrave QPM, Director of the Serious Fraud Office said: “I am very pleased to welcome Caroline Firstbrook and Simon McKinnon CB CBE to the SFO. Between them they bring extensive relevant experience from both the public and private sector, and I know they will be great assets to the SFO Board. I look forward to working with them.”     Claire Bassett, Chair of the SFO Board, said: "It's a pleasure to welcome Caroline Firstbrook and Simon McKinnon CB CBE to the SFO Board. Their wealth of relevant knowledge and expertise will be a tremendous asset to the SFO, and I look forward to working closely with them. I also want to take this opportunity to thank Sanjay Bhandari MBE and Magnus Falk for their dedication and insight across their tenures."   Read more here ➡ https://ow.ly/Qj1k50TzT7Q

Deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) are “a really helpful and useful tool in the armoury" - Director of the Serious Fraud Office Nicholas Ephgrave QPM   Speaking to the Financial Times, Nick highlighted the role of DPAs and how they could come back with a “vengeance” once a new fraud prevention offence for businesses takes effect next year.   Under these agreements, we may agree to suspend a criminal prosecution if a company suspected of wrongdoing agrees to certain terms such as paying fines and cooperating with ongoing investigations.   We’ve done this in the past with companies including Rolls-Royce and Airbus, returning over £1 billion to the UK taxpayer.   Read more here: https://lnkd.in/e5VYx8i7 [paywall]

It’s one year since I started as Director of the Serious Fraud Office. A year has flown by and I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved in that time. At the start of my tenure, I promised that you would see the SFO knocking on more doors, conducting dawn raids, and we’ve done this with a five-fold increase in the number of raids and more than 15 arrests. We’ve also advanced our prosecutions, charging ten people on 27 counts of fraud, bribery or corruption. From day one at Cockspur Street, I have found an organisation that is filled with passionate people working hard to deliver justice for victims of serious financial crimes and I’m proud that we have increased our staffing levels by nearly nine percent in just one year. Finally, we launched a new five-year strategy, which will deliver an SFO that is a more confident, strong, dynamic and pragmatic law enforcement organisation. These plans are in motion, and I look forward to seeing them become a reality during my tenure.