SFO Lays Its First Charges Under The Bribery Act

Although the Bribery Act 2010 (the Act) only became effective in July 2011 pressure on the UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to charge has steadily risen.  Now that wait is over.  On August 14, the SFO charged three individuals with offenses under the Act, indicating that the time for active enforcement has commenced.

In a press release on the SFO's website, the SFO charged four individuals, all associated with a bio fuels firm located in the UK, Sustainable AgroEnergy Plc, with offences alleging a conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and conspiracy to furnish false information, contrary to section 1 of the Criminal Law Act 1977.  Three of the individuals were also charged with bribery offences of making and accepting a financial advantage under section 1(1) and section 2(1) of the Bribery Act.