The head of the UK body responsible for probing fraud, money laundering and bribery – among other crimes – vowed to tighten the screws on wrongdoers while he also called for tougher penalties on firms.

The head of the UK body responsible for probing fraud, money laundering and bribery – among other crimes – vowed to tighten the screws on wrongdoers while he also called for tougher penalties on firms.

In a speech delivered at a symposium in Cambridge, UK, earlier this week, David Green, QC, director of the Serious Fraud Office, highlighted a raft of cases against firms and individuals at a time when, globally, there have been heavy fines on global wrongdoers for AML lapses, market abuse, and other failings.

One area where Green wanted to see even tougher action is the UK Bribery Act, which already has wide-ranging powers, going beyond the shores of the UK.

“I will also continue to speak in favour of amendment of S7 of the [UK] Bribery Act to create the offence of a company failing to prevent acts of financial crime by its associated persons. That would significantly increase our reach on corporate criminality, and is an idea that appears to be gaining traction,” Green said.
 
The caseload of the SFO is large, he said, referring to impending trials covering issues such as LIBOR-rigging and other scandals that have rocked financial markets in recent years. “We have much in the pipeline: as of today some 37 defendants await trail in 12 cases. The size of the white collar criminal legal sector serving the City of London is, I suggest, evidence in itself that there is a lot more work out there for the SFO,” he said.

He noted that in the case of LIBOR benchmark manipulation, 12 individuals have been charged so far; other areas of investigation/legal action include the circumstances surrounding Barclays’s recapitalisation in 2008; allegations of bribery surrounding Rolls Royce concerning attempted moves to enter certain markets and an ongoing money laundering probe concerning an “old regime Ukrainian politician”. (This person hasn’t, as far as this publication can determine, been named so far.)

“Many of our cases concern blue-chip UK companies. Such companies may be household names whose performance is of great importance to the UK economy and every citizen would wish them well: they are the good guys. SFO investigations involving iconic British enterprises do not enhance our popularity, and some may feel a certain tension between wanting the law enforced and wanting our companies to prosper,” Green said.

“These corporates have real clout amongst politicians and in the City. Some use the media to influence and shape public opinion. Those facts alone underline the need for a visibly independent investigator and prosecutor to have the conduct of these cases,” he continued.

“Some of these investigations are very large indeed. On LIBOR, for instance, we have some 70 staff engaged. Like any other government department, we must have budgetary discipline and take our place in line with other priorities. In fact, we have had a 10 per cent increase in our budget this year,” he said.