All Eyes on SFO as New Chief Inherits Fraud-Heavy Agenda

All Eyes on SFO as New Chief Inherits Fraud-Heavy Agenda

September 22, 2023, Law360

Ian Hargreaves’ commentary was included in a Law360 article exploring the priorities of the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) under new leader Nick Ephgrave. Ian contributes his analysis on what to expect from Ephgrave’s leadership.

"There seems to have been a real shift to concentrate on fraud matters rather than the big bribery cases," Ian said. He added that bribery cases have become more unusual as the agency focuses more closely on opening large-scale fraud investigations with significant domestic ties, saying "I think the mainstream investigators naturally feel more at home with fraud cases compared with bribery, especially domestically, because you're often not dealing with the same level and number of complex issues including those relating to disclosure — especially in different jurisdictions.”