Vetting

The assessment or 'vetting' of whether a suspected fraud should be accepted for investigation involves a detailed examination of all known facts of the referred case. Regular liaison meetings are held to establish which organisation is most appropriate to deal with a specific suspected fraud.

Whether a case should be accepted is normally decided within 1 month of it being referred to the SFO, although additional information may be requested before a decision can be made.

Cases recommended by the vetting team for a formal investigation are submitted to the Director for final acceptance.

What happens to cases that are not accepted by the SFO?

Cases not accepted by the SFO are referred back to the originating body.

Each year thousands of fraud cases, not falling within the SFO's scope are investigated by police regional fraud or commercial squads, and prosecuted in the courts, by the Crown Prosecution Service. Other government departments also undertake investigations and prosecutions.

Caseload

Approximately 20-30 new cases are accepted by the SFO each year.

At present the office has about 80 cases under investigation or going through the courts. This caseload is planned to increase over the next few years.