The U.K.'s Serious Fraud Office announced yesterday that it filed its first-ever charges under the U.K. Bribery Act. The SFO stated that it filed a case in the Westminster Magistrates Court against four men connected to a company called Sustainable AgroEnergy plc. The SFO alleges that the men conspired to commit fraud by false representation and conspiracy to furnish false information related to the "promotion and selling of 'bio fuel' investment products to UK investors."  Three of the four men were charged with the offense of "making and accepting a financial advantage contrary to section 1 (1) and 2 (1) of the Bribery Act 2010."

The SFO pegged the amount of the alleged fraud, which allegedly took place between April 2011 and February 2012, at approximately £23m. Although the SFO did not provide any additional information, the fraud reportedly involved "products linked to Jatropha-tree plantations in Southeast Asia," according to the Financial Times.

Although small and insignificant Bribery Act cases have been previously brought by local authorities, the cases announced yesterday are the first to be charged by the SFO, which is the principal enforcer of the Bribery Act. The Bribery Act took effect on July 1, 2011. Last month, Vivian Robinson, former general counsel to the Serious Fraud Office, stated that the SFO was beginning to face intense pressure to show that the Act is not a “paper tiger”and that the SFO is “the right organization as currently constituted to deal with these kind of cases.”

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