header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
21 October 2011 / David Corker
Issue: 7486 / Categories: Opinion , Fraud , Bribery
printer mail-detail

Fit for purpose?

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.

Is civil recovery effective in settling overseas corruption investigations, asks David Corker

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is increasingly using civil recovery to settle corruption investigations. On 22 July it announced that it had terminated its criminal investigation into Macmillan Publishers Ltd in connection with suspected corruption of government officials in African countries in relation to the award of contracts. This is the third settlement concluded so far this year compared to a total of two during 2009 and 2010.

Macmillan did not self-report and decided to co-operate with the SFO long after it knew that it was the target of a bribery investigation. No papers or statement of the case were published. The SFO press release indicated that the outcome was justified because it had agreed to a civil recovery order whereby it paid £11m to the Treasury (with £4m of that being routed back to the SFO). Macmillan also admitted that “such public tender processes were susceptible to improper relationships being formed” and that “it was impossible to be sure that the

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Divorce ‘nuclear weapon’ freezes assets but entangles outsiders
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
NLJ this week: What counts as ‘rent’? Court says labour alone won’t do
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Your magistrates’ court needs you!
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
NLJ this week: Freed but failed—justice system leaves the innocent empty-handed
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
NLJ this week: Clarity on whistleblowing, settlements and tribunal limits
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll