Thursday 06 August 2015 9:03 pm

Head of the Serious Fraud Office David Green says agency’s future is uncertain despite conviction of Tom Hayes

The director of the Serious Fraud Office, David Green, has said the future of the agency is uncertain, despite recent success.

In an interview with the Guardian, Green said that despite the recent conviction of Tom Hayes over Libor rigging, the agency's future is shrouded in doubt due to setbacks in certain investigations.

A jury convicted Hayes, a former UBS and Citigroup trader, on Monday on eight counts of conspiracy to defraud in connection to the Libor rigging scandal. The judge sentenced Hayes to 14 years in prison.

There was, Green said, a “certain professional satisfaction” over the conviction of Hayes.

Green told the Guardian of the case:

Plainly, it was a very important one. It was the biggest investigation we have ever done.

Home secretary Theresa May is understood to be inclined to fold the SFO into a larger agency following a number of setbacks for the agency, including a failed inquiry into property developer Vincent Tchenguiz, where the agency had to pay £6m in damages.

However, Green told the Guardian that while the future of the agency was uncertain, it “is ultimately a matter for ministers. It is up to me to make a case for the SFO.”

The SFO is now focusing on forthcoming Libor trials, as well as investigations into companies including including Tesco and Quindell, while also examining information relating to alleged Fifa corruption.