Serious Fraud Office (UK)

Infobox Law enforcement agency
agencyname = Serious Fraud Office
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abbreviation = SFO
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formedyear = 1988
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preceding1 = Serious fraud units of various United Kingdom police forces
preceding2 = Serious fraud unit of the Crown Prosecution Service
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country = United Kingdom
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legaljuris = England and Wales and Northern Ireland (not Scotland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands)
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constitution1 = Criminal Justice Act 1987
speciality = fraud
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minister1pfo = Attorney-General
chief1name = Richard Alderman
chief1position = Director
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website = http://www.sfo.gov.uk/
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reference =The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is an arm of the Government of the United Kingdom, accountable to the Attorney-General. Established by the Criminal Justice Act 1987, the Serious Fraud Office is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of suspected cases of serious or complex fraud where £1 million or more are involved or covers more than one national jurisdiction, though it is rare for cases involving less than £1 million to be taken. It has jurisdiction over England and Wales and Northern Ireland but not Scotland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands, though the Serious Fraud Office's compulsory information powers contained in section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act 1987 do so under invitation from the relevant prosecuting body.

The SFO was established in 1988 after the Roskill Report recommended that this specialist duty be taken away from normal police forces and the Crown Prosecution Service. The report came in the wake of several failed prosecutions

The Director is Richard Alderman, a former prosecuting lawyer at the Inland Revenue, and later head of Special Civil Investigations at HM Revenue & Customs. Mr Alderman was appointed on April 21, 2008, replacing Robert Wardle.

ignificant investigations

Al Yamamah Arms Deal

The SFO was involved in investigating allegations of corruption occurring at the arms manufacturer, BAE Systems, as part of the Al Yamamah arms deal. The enquiry was halted in December 2006 because of a claimed "...need to safeguard national and international security." [ [http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?id=2006-12-14c.1711.2 "Theyworkforyou.com"] ]

The SFO was rebuked by the OECD in March 2007 for dropping this enquiry. [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/saudi/story/0,,2034291,00.html OECD rebukes Britain for dropping Saudi arms deal bribery inquiry by Rob Evans The Guardian 15 March 2007] ] The UK is a signatory to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention which is aims to reduce corruption. If it is true that BAE Systems paid bribes as part of contracts, as is alleged, then this would be contrary to the OECD convention.

However, on 30 July 2008, the Law Lords overturned the decision by the High Court that the SFO had acted unlawfully by a vote of 5-0. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7532714.stm "Lords says SFO Saudi move lawful"] ]

Langbar International Fraud

Langbar International is a company that was listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange as Crown Corporation Limited in 2003 and is subject of the biggest share fraud on the Exchange to date. It is presently being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office [ [http://www.sfo.gov.uk/news/prout/pr_444.asp?seltxt= SFO Press Releases 29 November 2005] ] [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2005/nov/26/3 "Fraud inquiry starts into shell firm's missing millions" by Simon Bowers The Guardian 26 November 2005] ] [ [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/58affd9a-5e43-11da-a9e8-0000779e2340.html "Langbar faces SFO probe over possible missing cash" by David Blackwell Financial Times 26 November 2005] ] [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2005/11/26/cnsfo26.xml "SFO inquiry on way into fall of Langbar" by Robert Miller Daily Telegraph 26 November 2005] ] [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2005/nov/30/money "Fraud office launches inquiry into Langbar" by Simon Bowers The Guardian 30 November 2005] ] [ [http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/1299/Langbar-The-SFO-are-called.1269815.jp "Langbar: The SFO are called in" by Eric Barkas Yorkshire Post 29 November 2005] ] and the City of London Police and is also subject of many civil legal actions in the High Court. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4803736.stm "Langbar sues over missing £365m" BBC News 13 March 2006] ] [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2006/mar/14/2 "Langbar accuses two ex-directors of 'conspiracy to defraud'" by Simon Bowers The Guardian 14 March 2006] ] [ [http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=407618&in_page_id=2 "Langbar makes £29m claim" by James Rossiter Evening Standard 14 March 2006] ] [ [http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/business/story.html?id=fe778a63-480d-4db4-88a6-4de666e03d58 "Langbar launches $477m suit against Rybak, others" by James Bagnall Ottawa Citizen 14 March 2006] ] [ [http://www.accountancyage.com/accountancyage/news/2151926/langbar-launches-action-against "Langbar launches action against former directors" by Nicholas Neveling Accountancy Age 14 March 2006] ] [ [http://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/Companies/ByEvent/default/Inbrief/article/20060317/6ff3fe10-e8fe-11db-9f1b-00144f2af8e8/Langbar-launches-legal-challenges.jsp "Langbar launches legal challenges" by Graeme Davies Investors Chronicle 17 March 2006] ] [ [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/f5f453e8-9160-11db-b71a-0000779e2340,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2Ff5f453e8-9160-11db-b71a-0000779e2340.html&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ft.com%2FsearchResults%3FqueryText%3Dlangbar "Holders launch Langbar claim" by Nikki Tait Financial Times 22 December 2006] ] [ [http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/columnists/article1685552.ece "Campaigner has to fight for himself" by Martin Waller The Times 21 April 2007] ]

Crown Corporation, which changed its name to Langbar International Limited in 2005, was a Pump and Dump fraud, in that the company did not have the assets that it declared at listing. [ [http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article598430.ece "Langbar chief in investor talks over 'missing £365m'" by Caroline Merrell The Times 1 December 2005] ] [ [http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article745421.ece "A Crown farce: how Langbar mislaid £365m" by Paul Durman and Louise Armitstead The Sunday Times 4 December 2005] ] [ [http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article329411.ece "AIM becomes victim of £365m fraud" by Michael Jivkov The Independent 26 November 2005] ]

Despite the fact that Langbar was at one time worth over $1 billion, a quarter of the value of Enron (where 21 people were guilty), and was supposed to be worth £375 million ($750 million) when the fraud was discovered in 2005, there have been no arrests so far by the Serious Fraud Office or the Police. The whereabouts of all those involved are known.

Targets

*Barry Townsleyndash Labour donor involved in the "Cash for Honours" affair

FO in the media

"Private Eye", which often cites what it sees as toothlessness or incompetence on the part of the SFO, nearly always calls it the "Serious Farce Office" and others have dubbed it the "Seriously Flawed Office" for similar reasons.

External links

* [http://www.sfo.gov.uk/ Serious Fraud Office]

References

See also

* Fraud
* Al Yamamah
* Langbar International Limited
* Barry Townsley
* City of London Police