New SFO director vows quicker cases, stumps for whistleblower payouts
By 
Kyle Brasseur2024-02-14T21:21:00
In his first public speech as head of the U.K. Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Nick Ephgrave made clear his law enforcement background will lead to significant changes in how the agency handles its cases.
“Under my leadership, the SFO will be bolder, more pragmatic, more proactive,” said Ephgrave on Tuesday in remarks delivered at the Royal United Services Institute in London. “… We need to be bolder and explore new ways of doing things.”
Ephgrave joined the SFO at the end of September, succeeding Lisa Osofsky. His predecessor’s tenure was marred by controversy, including the failure to secure the prosecutions of several large companies and their directors (e.g., Tesco, G4S) and follow established legal procedure in key cases (e.g., Serco, Unaoil).
THIS IS MEMBERS-ONLY CONTENT
You are not logged in and do not have access to members-only content.
If you are already a registered user or a member, SIGN IN now.
Related articles
-
PremiumU.K. whistleblower protections, awards needed to compensate ‘career suicide’
Discrimination against whistleblowers in the U.K. has risen to such a level that the government may need to actively pursue plans to afford greater legal protection, as well as introduce financial awards to compensate for their “career suicide.”
-
PremiumLexisNexis survey: Compliance costs soared for U.K. banks in 2023
Nearly all but a tiny minority of financial institutions saw their costs of financial crime compliance rise in 2023, a survey by LexisNexis and Oxford Economics found.
-
PremiumExperts express skepticism toward ‘challenging’ SFO strategy
The U.K. Serious Fraud Office last month published its five-year strategic plan outlining how it intends to improve information gathering and international cooperation, as well as its enforcement record.
More from Regulatory Enforcement
-
News BriefFRC fines PwC, auditor combined $4.1M over 2019 work of Wyelands Bank
The U.K. Financial Reporting Council issued penalties against PwC and a former auditor over deficiencies on work related to the 2019 financial statements of now shuttered Wyelands Bank.
-
News BriefDOJ fines MORSE Corp $4.6M for lax cyber controls amid crack down on federal contractors
Yet another government contractor has been slapped with a fine by the Department of Justice for applying lax cybersecurity defenses on sensitive government data.
-
News BriefEU regulator questions 'culture of compliance' with Digital Markets Act at Apple, Google
The European Commission released its preliminary findings last week regarding Apple and Google not complying with the Digital Markets Act. It issued orders to both companies regarding their business practice and plans to release all of its findings next week.