Crime and Policing

The head of the UK’s anti-fraud agency will set out his vision for a “bolder, pragmatic, more proactive” prosecutor this week in his first public speech since taking up the position late last year.

The director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Nick Ephgrave, is set to give his maiden speech tomorrow evening at an event hosted by defence and security think tank Royal United Services Institute.

For the SFO, the year 2023 was largely a story of an organisation trying to turn a page. The flurry of activity around the departure of former Director Lisa Osofsky and the appointment of Nick Ephgrave QPM, gave a taste of what might be expected of the agency in the months to come. Ephgrave's tenure started with due fanfare with new investigations announced and a series of raids whilst several long running international investigations were dropped shortly before Ms Osofsky's departure. After a difficult few years in which the SFO had repeatedly made headlines for the wrong reasons, this new leadership, together with the reforms set out in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, which gained Royal Assent in October, offered the prospect of change. However, despite the buoyant mood, key challenges remain if the SFO is to prove itself.

https://www.mishcon.com/news/sfo-new-investigations-and-prosecutions-2023

The UK’s leading fraud-fighting police force has warned of pressure on its ‘ability to maintain officer levels’, after the Government’s provisional settlement left it with a potential funding gap of up to £3 million for 2023/24.

https://www.citymatters.london/countrys-leading-anti-fraud-police-force-may-be-hampered-by-budget-gap/

Convicted crooks were told to pay back more than £2.5 million last year after West Midlands Police pursued their 'dirty money'.

Criminals involved in offences such as drug dealing and fraud can accrue significant sums of money from their illegal activities.

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/crime/2024/01/01/criminals-told-to-repay-25-million-of-ill-gotten-gains-after-police-pursue-dirty-money/

A man who fled the country five years ago while he was on trial for fraud offences has been brought back to the West Midlands to face justice.

Zahid Khan had fled to Dubai before the end of his trial back in 2018.

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/crime/2023/12/23/man-who-fled-country-five-years-ago-following-fraud-conviction-appears-in-court/

Scam victims have recovered more than £1 million after Nottinghamshire Police’s fraud and cyber teams helped them get their money back.

Forty-five victims have been reimbursed this year after Protect officers helped them submit claims to their banks, which have a duty of care to protect customers from fraud and cybercrime.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) faces a possible multi-million pound legal bill after the High Court ruled today that the agency would not have opened an investigation into a Kazakh mining firm but for the wrongdoing of its officers.

https://www.cityam.com/uk-fraud-office-faces-hefty-bill-after-court-finds-wrongdoing-led-to-enrc-bribery-probe/

Six men and one woman have been arrested and charged after more than £1m was stolen from an elderly woman in Scotland.

It follows a cross-border investigation involving Police Scotland and policing partners in Essex, London and Eastbourne.

https://news.stv.tv/west-central/seven-arrested-and-charged-following-cross-border-investigation-into-theft-of-one-million-from-elderly-woman

A new strategy aimed at tackling the growing threat of serious and organised crime has been announced by the Home Secretary as the Government steps up action to clamp down on criminal gangs operating in and against the UK.

https://www.policeprofessional.com/news/new-strategy-launched-to-tackle-threat-of-serious-and-organised-crime/

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has said that hiring 150 new staff was its “top priority” as it looks to continue its turnaround under new boss Nick Ephgrave.

The recruitment drive is primarily for new investigators, forty of which will be junior agents, a spokesman said. This would take the number of investigators back to the 600 that its budget from the Treasury accommodates for.