The UK Government is expanding the scope of the Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) power to compel individuals and companies to provide information before a formal SFO investigation is commenced. Currently the power can only be...more
On 15 June 2023, The Insider Dealing (Securities and Regulated Markets) Order 2023 (the “2023 Order”) came into force. The 2023 Order seeks to align certain outdated aspects of the UK’s criminal insider dealing regime under...more
On 17 April 2023, HM Treasury (HMT) published the draft Insider Dealing (Securities and Regulated Markets) Order 2023 (the Order) and an explanatory memorandum. The Order brings the list of securities captured under the...more
In our Quarterly Review, we bring you important UK developments relating to business crime, investigations, and regulatory enforcement from the last three months. As the UK gets used to life outside the EU and implements...more
In order to provide an overview for busy in-house counsel and compliance professionals, we summarize below some of the most important international anti-corruption developments from the past month, with links to primary...more
The Issue: The UK Supreme Court was asked to decide whether section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act 1987 granted the Serious Fraud Office ("SFO") powers to compel the production of documents held outside the United Kingdom. ...more
Much has been made of the Supreme Court's decision earlier this month in KBR, Inc. v Director of the Serious Fraud Office, in which it confirmed the limits on UK authorities' reach overseas in anti-corruption investigations....more
On 5 February 2021, the UK Supreme Court ruled that the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) could not force a foreign company to hand over material that it holds abroad through a notice issued under Section 2(3) of the Criminal...more
In a striking rebuke, the U.K. Supreme Court found that the U.K. Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) overstepped its authority when it tried to access corporate documents from the United States. The U.K. Supreme Court’s message to...more
On February 5, 2021 the Supreme Court handed down judgment in the case of R (on the application of KBR, Inc) v Director of the Serious Fraud Office, finding in favor of the Appellant, KBR, Inc (KBR). This high-profile case...more
On 8 October 2020, Lisa Osofsky spoke to the Royal United Services Institute about future challenges in tackling the world of economic crime. Most eye-catching was her ‘wish list for the SFO’, which outlined three desired...more
The approach of the Serious Fraud Office (the “SFO”) to compelled interviews is a longstanding source of frustration for criminal defence lawyers. The beginning of Lisa Osofsky’s tenure as Director and the introduction of...more