Serious Fraud Office (UK)
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| Non-ministerial government department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1987 |
| Type | Law enforcement |
| Jurisdiction | England and Wales and Northern Ireland |
| Headquarters | 2-4 Cockspur Street, London, SW1Y 5BS |
| Employees | Around 300 permanent staff |
| Annual budget | £36.35m (2011–12) |
| Minister responsible |
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| Non-ministerial government department executive | |
| Website | www |
| Footnotes | |
| General nature: Law Enforcement Specialism: Serious or complex fraud, bribery, corruption and proceeds of crime | |
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is an independent UK Government department that investigates and prosecutes serious or complex fraud and corruption. Accountable to the Attorney General, it has jurisdiction over England, Wales and Northern Ireland and assists a number of overseas investigations by obtaining information from UK sources. Section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act 1987 grants the SFO special compulsory powers to require any person (or business/bank) to provide any relevant documents (including confidential ones) and answer any relevant questions including ones about confidential matters.
The SFO is also the principal enforcer of the Bribery Act 2010, which has been designed to encourage good corporate governance and enhance the reputation of the City of London and the UK as a safe place to do business.
The SFO's director is David Green CB QC.
During the 1970s and early 1980s a series of financial scandals in the City of London destroyed the public's trust in the way serious or complex frauds were handled. In response to this the Government established the Fraud Trials Committee in 1983. This independent committee, under the chairmanship of Lord Roskill, considered how changes to the law and criminal proceedings could lead to more effective ways of fighting fraud. The committee report, commonly known as 'the Roskill Report' was published in 1986. Its main recommendation was to set up a new, unified organisation responsible for detecting, investigating and prosecuting serious fraud cases.
As a result, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and its unique powers were created by the Criminal Justice Act 1987. It opened for business in April 1988. The SFO also enforces the UK Bribery Act 2010.
Guinness Plc: In 1986 there were rumours that the Guinness takeover of the Distillers Company was tainted by an unlawful share support operation which involved Guinness offering secret indemnities (from its own funds) against losses to people ‘supporting’ the bid which resulted in a dramatic rise in the price of Guinness shares.
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