SERIOUS FRAUD

Only seven corporate convictions have been secured by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) since 2013 and 11 out of 43 criminal investigations prosecuted, a freedom of information request by Fieldfisher has revealed. Kyle Phillips, a director at the firm, said the figures show the SFO was slow in progressing these investigations despite new corporate criminal offences being introduced, with 32 out of the 43 investigations not yet concluded. He said unless significant progress is made soon, the backlog of cases will continue to rise risking further delays to investigations. The firm maintains a log of SFO investigations and outcomes since 2013 at Fieldfisher.com 20 November