2020-101 – Number of investigations

Date Answered: 22 July 2020

How many reports have you investigated and how many have you not over the past 4 weeks?

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has a statutory remit to investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute, the top tier of cases involving allegations of serious or complex fraud, including bribery and corruption. It takes on a small number of large economic crime cases that fall within our operational remit. More information on our remit can be found at https://www.sfo.gov.uk/about-us/.

The SFO receives a large number of referrals each year, however, the vast majority of these do not fit the agency’s specialist remit to investigate. Over the past four weeks, from 24 June up until 22 July 2020, the SFO received 79 referrals. However, none of these have led to the formal opening of an investigation, as expected over a short time frame. It takes time for our Intelligence Division to assess whether each referral falls within our remit for investigation. The Director of the SFO would then need to decide whether to open an investigation based on her Statement of Principle. The Statement of Principle can be found on our website at https://www.sfo.gov.uk/about-us/.

Please note the SFO publishes information on its investigation openings in its Annual report and Accounts. More information can also be found on the cases page of the SFO website.