Serious Fraud Office Under Fresh Scrutiny Following Acquittal of Barclays Bank Three following Seven Year Investigation
The Serious Fraud office were dealt a new blow yesterday following the acquittal of three former Barclays Executives; Roger Jenkins, Tom Kalaris and Richard Boath all of whom were acquitted of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation after just five hours of deliberation by a jury at the Central Criminal Court. This comes after a £15 million investigation and five month re-trial into emergency Qatari loans in 2008 that allowed the bank to avoid a state bail-out. The Body which deals with the most complex and serious fraud allegations has struggled to secure high-profile convictions and there are now calls for an independent review into the organisation. It has long been debated that the laws surrounding criminal corporate liability are outdated and not fit for modern purpose, now with less and less prosecutions being brought by the Serious Fraud Office and even less convictions, it begs the question; What is the future for Prosecutions into complex fraud investigations?
