SFO GO SLOW

It takes nearly twice as long for major fraud and corruption cases to reach court than it did three years ago, according to the Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO’s) annual report. It takes almost five years on average from the opening of a formal investigation for a case to arrive at the crown court, the report says, and even then the resulting trials often face further delays. During the year 11 trials were completed, with 15 defendants convicted. Six defendants were acquitted. The annual conviction rate was 71%. At the year-end there were 64 cases—involving £2.4bn—either under investigation or with charges being brought.