News and commentary about white-collar crime, enforcement, and compliance
Harry Cassin
Publisher and Editor
Andy Spalding
Senior Editor
Jessica Tillipman
Senior Editor
Bill Steinman
Senior Editor
Richard L. Cassin
Editor at Large
Elizabeth K. Spahn
Editor Emeritus
Cody Worthington
Contributing Editor
Julie DiMauro
Contributing Editor
Thomas Fox
Contributing Editor
Marc Alain Bohn
Contributing Editor
Bill Waite
Contributing Editor
Russell A. Stamets
Contributing Editor
Richard Bistrong
Contributing Editor
Eric Carlson
Contributing Editor
Last week, SFO head Lisa Osofsky told British lawmakers that she regretted the agency’s “damaging relationship” with an American private investigator during a major corruption probe into oil consultancy Unaoil, which ultimately led to three UK convictions being overturned.… Continue Reading
After three of the four convictions in the SFO’s Unaoil case were overturned, the UK attorney general launched a review into the agency. Last month, Sir David Calvert-Smith’s report was published, and it made for deeply uncomfortable reading for the SFO and its supporters.… Continue Reading
In 2018, the UK Serious Fraud Office recovered £4.4 million ($6.2 million) from two Chad diplomats who took bribes from Canadian oil company Griffiths Energy in the U.S and Canada. The recovered money was transferred to Chad and used in aid and development programs.… Continue Reading
The SFO’s investigation into the activities of Petrofac drew to a close on October 4, 2021. Following its guilty pleas, the company was sentenced for seven counts of failing to prevent bribery between 2011 and 2017.… Continue Reading
Petrofac Ltd, a British oilfield services provider, agreed Monday to pay the UK Serious Fraud Office £77 million ($104.6 million) in penalties for Bribery Act offenses in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.… Continue Reading
The Serious Fraud Office has been teetering on the brink for some time now. Several victims of its inept investigations have prompted some experts to question whether it remains fit for purpose.… Continue Reading
Why is cooperation in corporate enforcement actions such a big deal? Because from the outside, most companies are a black box. Without help, it’s impossible to know what happens inside.… Continue Reading
Unless a mobile device management (MDM) system or special software is in place, messages may not be retrievable without cooperation from custodians. Even with cooperation, old or deleted messages may be unobtainable. … Continue Reading
The Covid-19 outbreak presented “an unprecedented crisis” for the criminal justice system in the UK – coming as it did when there was already a mounting backlog of complex criminal cases in England and Wales.… Continue Reading
In a much-needed win for the Serious Fraud Office, two out of three defendants it was prosecuting for corruption in the Unaoil case were found guilty by a London jury Monday after 19 days of deliberations.… Continue Reading
Identifying and compensating overseas victims of corruption is a major challenge that prosecutors have yet to adequately address. As Jeffrey Kaplan recently discussed in a post for the FCPA Blog, when corruption is treated as victimless, it may allow those involved in the crime to “feel comfortable with their participation.”… Continue Reading
It is five years since Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) came into force in the UK. In that time they have become such an established part of the corporate crime landscape that any UK-based company which is under investigation for fraud or bribery by the SFO will now give serious thought to pursuing a DPA.… Continue Reading