MPs criticise Serious Fraud Office in wake of report

This entry was posted on Friday, December 16th, 2011 at 9:15 am

MPs and legal experts have criticised the Serious Fraud office (SFO), calling for agreements to be more tightly drawn in the wake of the serious fraud case settled between the SFO and BAE Systems last year.

The SFO settled the case with BAE for £29.5 million in 2010 after an investigation lasting six years. The investigation centred on political corruption committed by BAE to help sell arms to a number of countries in South America, Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

However, the settlement was met with widespread condemnation from MPs, legal experts and activists. On 2^nd March 2010 the Campaign Against Arms Trade and The Corner House were successful in gaining a High Court injunction on the settlement. The High Court may order a full review of the settlement as a result.

The International Development Committee (IDC ) published a report on ‘Financial Crime and Development’ on November 30^th, which denounced the agreement between the SFO and BAE Systems as ‘deficient’ in many respects. It criticised BAE in July when it emerged that part of the settlement, which was to go towards Tanzania’s education budget, had not been paid.

Conclusions reached in the IDC report regarding settlements of this nature called for the resolution to be more ‘precise about what is required from those involved and include clear timetables’.

MPs have also urged the government to look into the SFO’s proposals to settle complex corporate fraud cases with plea-bargaining, a style of settlement used in the USA.

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