Confidence in SFO continues to dwindle

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 11th, 2012 at 11:07 am

When the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) was investigated last month by the Cabinet Office, it wasn’t just the role reversal that piqued interest in the story. Allegations by staff of improper conduct aimed at senior officers at the agency reveal deeper cracks that have been gradually coming to surface at the SFO for some time.

Although no evidence of wrongdoing was found by Attorney General Dominic Grieve’s office, the investigation still marked a deeply embarrassing affair for the SFO. Its recent initiative to launch a hotline for whistleblowers to report incidents of corporate fraud was mirrored in a moment of acute irony by their own internal whistleblower complaining that corporate governance within the organisation was not as it should be.

But this is just the start of the SFO’s problems. The agency is currently going through an immensely turbulent period, as recent years have seen a number of high-level staff departures, including the exit in April this year of its director, Richard Alderman.

Alderman’s four year tenure at the SFO has not been a successful one. At least four major investigations into serious fraud in the last two years have been closed without any charges brought against the accused, while government funding has been continually slashed. The SFO’s steadily dwindling budget cannot give incoming director David Green much comfort, especially since the agency’s prosecution record has been so criticised in more prosperous times.

The future of the agency is now under constant review, as the government assesses whether it is truly capable of imposing heavy enough punishments in cases of serious fraud and corporate fraud. A reprieve last year was made for the organisation after the Home Office pushed for its abolishment – it remains to be seen whether confidence in the SFO will still be there in the coming months.

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