UK's Serious Fraud Office - an introduction

Back in the 1980's, the UK (like the US) had lots of frauds and the public got upset. So, they established the SFO (Serious Fraud Office - not San Francisco Airport's code...) to investigate selected "Serious" or large frauds that exceed £1 million WITH an international dimension.

Here is small overview - visit their website at the link below to learn more:
However, unlike anti-corruption agencies in many countries, they don't seem to think part of their mission is to publicize past fraud cases and publish tips how to avoid fraud. Maybe next year...

PS: A difference between fraud and corruption is that fraud is committed in non-government operations, and corruption exists in government agencies. SFO appears to be mostly an investigative and prosecution arm for large business and individual frauds, not government corruption.
vj

http://www.sfo.gov.uk/about/about.asp

What kind of organisation is the SFO?

The Serious Fraud Office is an independent government department that investigates and prosecutes serious or complex fraud. It is part of the UK criminal justice system.

The Office is headed by the Director who is appointed by and accountable to the Attorney General. The Attorney General is appointed by the Prime Minister and is responsible to Parliament for:

* the Serious Fraud Office
* the Crown Prosecution Service
* the Treasury Solicitor's Department
* the Department of the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland
* the CPS Inspectorate
* the Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office

Jurisdiction

England, Wales and Northern Ireland fall within the SFO's jurisdiction.

The SFO does not have jurisdiction over Scotland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands.

Case Acceptance Criterion

The key criterion we use when deciding whether to accept a case is that the suspected fraud appears to be so serious or complex that its investigation should be carried out by those responsible for its prosecution.

The SFO could not - and does not - take on every referred case of suspected fraud. SFO resources must be focussed on major and complicated fraud.
Factors considered:

* does the value of the alleged fraud exceed £1 million?
* is there a significant international dimension?
* is the case likely to be of widespread public concern?
* does the case require highly specialised knowledge, e.g. of financial markets?
* is there a need to use the SFO's special powers, such as Section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act?