Originally published in Law360, New York (May 24, 2012, 6:34 PM ET)

A severe lack of funding has sabotaged the U.K. Serious Fraud Office's ability to aggressively enforce the country's sweeping new anti-bribery law and to bring the types of major corruption cases many have long anticipated, experts told Law360 on Thursday.

The U.K. Bribery Act was supposed to mean big trouble for crooked companies around the world when it took effect last July. Seen as a tougher version of the U.S.'s already feared Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, attorneys warned their clients to take heed and beef up their compliance programs, or risk facing the wrath of the new British regulatory regime.