Log in or register
Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn

ARTICLE · 27 MARCH 2014

Excoriating The SFO

McGuireWoods LLP
Explore more from McGuireWoods LLP

The latest misfortune to explode over the heads of the Serious Fraud Office is the collapse, just before Christmas, of its case against Victor Dahdaleh on charges of corruption in connection with aluminium contracts.

United StatesCriminal Law
David Kirk
David Kirk

The latest misfortune to explode over the heads of the Serious Fraud Office is the collapse, just before Christmas, of its case against Victor Dahdaleh on charges of corruption in connection with aluminium contracts.  Last week a judge at Southwark Crown Court laid the blame for the failure squarely at the feet of the SFO, because by relying on a third party to carry out a significant part of the investigation on its behalf, it had laid itself open to the risk that the third party would not be reliable. 

Other problems the SFO has faced in the last year or so include complaints about payments made to departing senior staff, mis-accounting for VAT payments, and the Tchenguiz arrest warrants.  

We operate a free-to-view policy, asking only that you register in order to read all of our content. Please login or register to view the rest of this article.

Register for freeORLog in

Related Articles

Legal Intelligence Newsletters: sign up for the latest legal and regulatory news on your chosen topics

Read more about

Related Comparative Guides

See more popular content from

Article

DOJ Announces 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown: 455 Defendants Charged In $6.5 Billion Enforcement Action

The Department of Justice's 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown charged 455 defendants in connection with $6.5 billion in alleged fraud schemes, marking an unprecedented scale of enforcement action. This whole-of-government approach leverages advanced data analytics and international cooperation to combat healthcare fraud across Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal programs. The enforcement action demonstrates heightened scrutiny of providers, aggressive asset forfeiture, and a focus on cases involvin
United StatesCriminal Law
Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP
Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP
Article

2026 Mid-Year Update On DOJ Corporate And White Collar Enforcement

The Department of Justice has implemented its first-ever Department-wide Corporate Enforcement Policy, fundamentally reshaping how companies navigate voluntary self-disclosure, cooperation, and remediation across all criminal matters. This comprehensive mid-year analysis examines the new three-path framework, explores critical enforcement developments in FCPA, export controls, trade fraud, and healthcare, and reveals how recent resolutions signal both opportunities and heightened risks for corporate complia
United StatesCriminal Law
Sher Tremonte
Sher Tremonte
Article

Prediction Markets — Legitimate Trading Or Gambling?

The rapid expansion of online prediction markets has created a regulatory gray area where consumers can effectively wager on sporting events even in states that prohibit traditional sports betting. As platforms like Kalshi, Polymarket, and Robinhood argue their services constitute futures trading rather than gambling, state attorneys general and the CFTC are locked in legal battles over jurisdiction and consumer protection.
United StatesCriminal Law
Klemchuk
Klemchuk
Article

The State Of The World’s Whistleblower Laws, Protections, And Rewards

Whistleblower protection has evolved significantly since the UN Convention Against Corruption in 2003, yet the scope of protections and rewards varies dramatically across jurisdictions. From the robust reward systems in the United States and South Korea to the EU's protection-focused directive and emerging programs in Ghana, countries have taken vastly different approaches to encouraging and safeguarding those who expose wrongdoing.
United StatesCriminal Law
Miller Shah LLP
Miller Shah LLP
Article

Requirements For Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems In Virginia

If a county, city or town contributes a pollutant of concern to a waterbody it may need to modify its municipal stormwater management program to meet state and federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) regulations. Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) and the Virginia Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) will require MS4 communities to make improvements and retrofits to existing stormwater management programs.
United StatesEnvironment
McGuireWoods LLP
McGuireWoods LLP