Category Archives: News Releases

• ‘No case to answer’ ruling in case against former Tesco executives

  6th Dec 2018 | News Releases

  Mr Justice John Royce has ruled that Christopher Bush and John Scouler have no case to answer over alleged financial misreporting that saw Tesco overstate its profits by more than £250m in 2014.

• UK’s first Deferred Prosecution Agreement, between the SFO and Standard Bank, successfully ends

  30th Nov 2018 | News Releases

  Today the Serious Fraud Office announced the end of the UK’s first Deferred Prosecution Agreement, confirming that Standard Bank PLC (now known as ICBC Standard Bank PLC) had fully complied with its terms.

• 9 convicted in £16m and $21m FH Bertling bribery cases

  27th Nov 2018 | News Releases

  Stephen Emler and Giuseppe Morreale pleaded guilty for their part in a corrupt scheme to secure a ConocoPhillips freight forwarding contract, eventually worth over £16m, for FH Bertling as part of the ‘Jasmine’ North Sea oil exploration project.

• Osman Shahenshah & Shahid Ullah sentenced to 30 years for Afren fraud & money laundering

  29th Oct 2018 | News Releases

  Today, Osman Shahenshah and Shahid Ullah received a total of 30 years for fraud and money laundering offences they had committed whilst they were CEO and Chief Operating Officer of Afren Plc.

• Barclays PLC and Barclays Bank PLC

  26th Oct 2018 | News Releases

  As Barclays have reported in their Regulatory News Service announcement, the High Court has today ruled against the SFO’s application, seeking to reinstate the charges previously dismissed in the Crown Court.

• Ex-Afren CEO & COO convicted of fraud and money laundering over $300 million oil business deal

  24th Oct 2018 | News Releases

  Today, Osman Shahenshah and Shahid Ullah were found guilty of fraud and money laundering offences from which they personally received more than $17m and laundered $45m by deceiving the Afren Board into agreeing a $300m business deal.

• Patisserie Holdings PLC

  12th Oct 2018 | Case Updates

  Following this morning’s Regulatory News Service announcement by Patisserie Holdings PLC, the SFO confirms that its Director has opened a criminal investigation into an individual.

  We can give no further information or comment at this time.

• SFO begins action to recover proceeds of alleged corrupt telecoms deals in Uzbekistan

  3rd Oct 2018 | News Releases

  The claim concerns a number of assets, including three UK properties, which the SFO alleges were obtained using the proceeds of corrupt deals in Uzbekistan involving Gulnara Karimova and Rustam Madumarov.

• Solar energy panel fraudsters sentenced to 30 years

  2nd Oct 2018 | News Releases

  Today six men were sentenced to a total of 30 years’ and 4 months’ imprisonment for a £17m scam which defrauded 1,500 victims including elderly, retired and vulnerable people.

• Further charges against former Güralp Systems employees in South Korean bribery and corruption case

  28th Sep 2018 | News Releases

  Natalie Pearce has been charged by requisition with conspiracy to make corrupt payments contrary to Section 1 of the Criminal Law Act 1977 and Section 1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906.

• New senior roles at the SFO

  27th Sep 2018 | News Releases

  The SFO is expanding and restructuring its management team, to strengthen the organisation’s intelligence and case development function and to bring a clearer focus to the Chief Investigator and General Counsel roles.

• SFO General Counsel, Alun Milford, to join Kingsley Napley

  24th Sep 2018 | News Releases

  General Counsel Alun Milford will be leaving the SFO to join law firm Kingsley Napley as a partner at a date to be confirmed.