The collapsed prosecution of three former G4S executives this year is just the latest of many disasters at the beleaguered SFO. Bridgland, Cooke and Marshall outline some of these, and ask what went wrong. They investigate how significant a factor the SFO’s lack of resources may have been in its catalogue of failures to date. They look at the usefulness of ‘blockbuster’ funding. They turn to the issue of disclosure. They discuss the optics of investment, both in terms of financial resources and ministerial support.
The authors write: ‘With additional budget, the SFO would arguably be able to instruct more qualified experts, procure more sophisticated resources, and would have more experienced and well-qualified people on the ground to manage the various elements of complex proceedings (such as disclosure requirements, which have recently been a particular source of difficulty).’
Find Part 1 of the authors' series on the UK financial crime landscape here.
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