Dealing with Cases
Case Acceptance Criterion
The key criterion we use when deciding whether to accept a case is that the suspected fraud appears to be so serious or complex that its investigation should be carried out by those responsible for its prosecution.
The SFO could not - and does not - take on every referred case of suspected fraud. SFO resources must be focussed on major and complicated fraud.
Factors considered:
- does the value of the alleged fraud exceed £1 million?
- is there a significant international dimension?
- is the case likely to be of widespread public concern?
- does the case require highly specialised knowledge, e.g. of financial markets?
- is there a need to use the SFO's special powers, such as Section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act?