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The UK Serious Fraud Office has received an additional £9.3 million in funding to improve case management and evidence handling, as part of the government’s bid to tackle financial crime.
The bulk of the money – £8.3 million – will be used to reform the way the agency monitors the progress of its cases, the Crown Prosecution Service told the Financial Times. A new confiscation team will also be established to help recover assets from convicted individuals.
Britain’s prosecutor, charged with tackling complex fraud, bribery and corruption, has long faced a lack of resources in tackling wealthy individuals with deep pockets willing to take part in lengthy trials. The average SFO case takes more than four years from investigation to initial outcome and involves 5 million documents.
The money will boost the SFO’s annual budget next year, which now stands at £88.9 million for the period 2025-2026. The agency’s budget always consists of basic funding plus an additional amount, which changes from year to year, to handle major cases.
The SFO’s current cases include a bribery investigation into Glencore, with the agency charging six former employees this year, and an investigation into collapsed cafe chain Patisserie Valerie over accounting practices.
“This government is committed to tackling fraud and this additional funding will modernize the SFO’s services, improve their disclosure practices and enhance their ability to seize assets and make significant returns to taxpayers,” said Richard Hermer, Attorney General general for England and Wales. , said a statement.
The additional funding for the agency’s evidence software comes after prosecutors faced criticism over its disclosure practices.
The SFO discovered problems with its disclosure technology earlier this year, forcing it to review past and current cases. Although the review is still ongoing, SFO director Nick Ephgrave told the FT in September that no issues had been discovered so far.
In addition, the SFO is threatening to pay potentially millions of pounds in damages to the Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation over its handling of a criminal investigation into the Kazakh mining group. The agency has set aside more than £200 million to cover the legal case.
The British government also said this week that it has provided additional funding to the Crown Prosecution Service for England and Wales to help ease pressure on the criminal justice system, which is struggling with a record backlog of cases.
The CPS will receive £49 million to support victims of crime, improve services and increase the workforce dealing with cases of rape and serious sexual offences, the Attorney General’s office said.