Fraud office launches investigation into collapsed lender London Capital & Finance March 18, 2019 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has launched an investigation into failed £236m lender London Capital & Finance (LCF), it said today. The SFO said it made four arrests in the Kent and Sussex areas on 4 March. It said all four individuals have been released pending further investigation. The SFO is investigating in conjunction with [...]
House of Lords Committee slams fraud office for slow pace of bribery investigations March 14, 2019 A House of Lords Committee today criticised the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for the slow pace of bribery investigations. In a report on the Bribery Act 2010 published today, the Committee said: “The slow pace of investigations, and in particular the failure to update companies on their progress, is a [...]
Former head of public prosecutions barred from dealing with CPS and SFO over conflict fears March 10, 2019 The UK’s former director of public prosecutions (DPP) has been barred from contact with agencies such as the Serious Fraud Offices for two years over conflict of interest fears. Alison Saunders, who stepped down as DPP last year to join law firm Linklaters, is not allowed to deal with the Crown Prosecution Services (CPS) or [...]
Rolls-Royce turbulence finally nearing an end February 28, 2019 On the the face of it, aircraft engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce looks to be stuck on the runway. Shares fell 2.5 per cent yesterday as it reported £2.9bn total losses in 2018. These were largely down to long-running mechanical problems which have grounded one of British Airways’ new Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets at Heathrow airport for [...]
Ex-Barclays boss John Varley says £322m Qatar payment ‘not conditional’ on its involvement in the bank’s fundraising February 28, 2019 The former chief executive of Barclays John Varley said the bank’s controversial £322m services agreements with Qatar were “not conditional” on the Gulf state’s participation in its financial crisis fundraising, a court heard today. Varley, who is on trial for fraud alongside former colleagues Roger Jenkins, Tom Kalaris and Richard Boath, was in court to [...]
Ex-Barclays director says controversial deal with Qatar helped it win work in the Middle East February 27, 2019 A former Barclays executive told a court today that the bank’s two controversial £322m services agreements with Qatar at the time of its £12bn financial crisis fundraisings subsequently helped it win work in the Middle East. Former Barclays director Glenn Leighton said projects he had worked on in Bahrain and Kuwait were landed with the [...]
Barclays banker says she knew nothing of £322m services deal with Qatar February 26, 2019 Evidence from a former vice-chairman of Barclays Capital was read to a London court today, revealing she was not aware of two services agreements the bank struck with Qatar in 2008. Gay Huey Evans, who is currently deputy chairman of the Financial Reporting Council, said Barclays’ former executive chairman of investment banking Roger Jenkins was [...]
Serious Fraud Office drops probes into Rolls-Royce and GSK February 22, 2019 Britain’s corruption watchdog closed the curtains on major probes into Rolls-Royce and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) this morning. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said today that it is closing its investigations into both the car maker and the pharmaceuticals giant. The long-standing investigation into Rolls Royce, which centred around bribery and corruption to win business in countries [...]
Former Barclays chair will appear at SFO fraud trial February 18, 2019 Marcus Agius, the former chairman of Barclays, is set to appear as a witness for the prosecution at the high-profile trial of four of the bank’s former executives on fraud charges. Agius quit the bank nearly seven years ago over its role in the Libor-rigging scandal. He will be called on by the Serious Fraud [...]
Qataris pushed ‘quite aggressively’ for Barclays fee during investment scramble, court hears February 14, 2019 A Barclays boss warned his colleagues that Qatari investors were pushing “quite aggressively” to be paid for a controversial services contract at the height of the financial crisis, a court heard today. Richard Boath told fellow executive Rich Ricci that Doha was growing impatient with the bank, after it apparently missed the deadline to pay [...]