City law firm RPC says the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is ramping up its use of "compelled interviews", citing a 37% rise on last year from 117 up to 129.
"Compelled" interviews require witnesses, not suspects, to attend interviews with the SFO, where they can also be compelled to supply documents that the SFO believes could help with an investigation.
Richard Burger, partner at RPC, says: “For many people, a compelled interview will be their first encounter with law enforcement officers and the process itself is often very disconcerting.”
Witnesses forced to supply information to the SFO are permitted to be represented by a lawyer—at their own expense. When an employee is compelled to be interviewed in an investigation against their employer, the SFO, however, is likely to object to them being represented by a lawyer that represents their firm.
RPC says that this underlines the importance for directors and senior managers to make sure the cost of personal legal representation is properly covered under their company’s Directors and Officers insurance policy.
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