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Hickman & Rose specialise in matters of serious fraud representing both individuals and companies. Our team of experienced and expert lawyers have achieved significant success acting in the highest-profile serious fraud cases.
Serious fraud encompasses a range of financial crime allegations including theft, conspiracy to defraud, false accounting, fraudulent trading, as well as offences under the Fraud Act 2006 including fraud by false representation, fraud by failing to disclose information and fraud by abuse of position.
Serious fraud often intersects with other white-collar and financial crime allegations such as bribery, corruption, insider dealing and money-laundering. The international nature of modern business means serious fraud matters often straddle jurisdictions, and any UK-regulated professional who is subject to a serious fraud allegations is likely to face investigation by their regulatory body.
Hickman & Rose’s serious fraud team has the skills and experience to navigate a safe course through what can be a confusing and – potentially perilous – legal environment.
In the UK, serious fraud is investigated and prosecuted by various state agencies depending on the seriousness and complexity of the case.
The Serious Fraud Office (‘SFO’) is the UK’s leading law enforcement and prosecution agency for serious and complex financial crime. It handles the country’s most significant financial crime investigations and prosecutions.
SFO investigations often involve allegations of fraud and false accounting in publicly listed and private companies and their subsidiaries. These cases usually rely heavily on data (such as emails, messaging and other communication records and financial data) with the SFO exercising its compulsory powers to seize material and compel answers from witnesses.
SFO investigations are long running and usually take years to conclude.
Away from the SFO, the National Crime Agency (NCA) and specialist police units such as the City of London Fraud Squad and regional Fraud Squads also deal with a range of fraud allegations. Often cases which are investigated by these units are brought to court by a specialist fraud prosecution unit within the Crown Prosecution Service.
Serious tax fraud is usually investigated by the HMRC. There are a number of other, specialist agencies such as the NHS Counter Fraud Authority which investigate and prosecute serious fraud in particular industry sectors.
A Section 2 interview is an interview held under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act 1987.
A notice served under Section 2 can require an individual to attend a Section 2 interview and compel them to answer questions, failure to do so without a reasonable excuse is a criminal offence.
Although answers given at a Section 2 interview cannot usually be used against an individual in any subsequent criminal prosecution, the SFO’s recent practice has included interviewing individuals using this power and subsequently treating them as suspects.
Anyone facing the prospect of a Section 2 interview should seek expert advice on navigating this process.
Introduced in 2014, Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) have significantly changed the way in which the most significant serious fraud cases are investigated and prosecuted in England and Wales.
A DPA is a deal made between the SFO and a corporate in which the corporate admits wrongdoing in exchange for the certainty of avoiding criminal prosecution, albeit with conditions that are likely to include significant financial penalties.
A DPA will always include an agreed Statement of Facts in which the company under investigation makes various admissions. This will consist of a narrative agreed upon by both the SFO and the corporate body in question setting out the wrongdoing admitted by the company and laying the blame for this with particular individuals. Although the practice has developed not to name such individuals they may still be identifiable due to their role at the company.
Whether named or not, an individual blamed in a Statement of Facts runs a significant risk of being prosecuted.
From the outset, there is always a risk of a conflict of interest between an individual and the corporate body. Any individual at risk of being blamed for wrongdoing will need to consider taking independent legal advice from the earliest stage in an investigation to protect their position, and it may well be best to do so before answering questions as part of an internal investigation by the company.
Serious fraud investigations can involve more than one investigating agency. This is especially likely to be the case where regulated professionals such as lawyers, accountants and those regulated by the FCA, are involved.
In these situations, it is important to build a defence strategy that considers the multiple issues that can arise from the involvement of various agencies.
Similarly, many serious fraud cases can straddle more than one jurisdiction. It is important to have a coordinated strategy between jurisdictions and lawyers and to be cognisant of the how decisions in one country might impact investigations and prosecutions in another.
Hickman & Rose has significant experience and expertise acting for individuals and corporates in some of the SFO’s biggest fraud investigations as well as those of other agencies in the UK. The team have often acted in cases involving overseas jurisdictions, multiple agencies and regulators, and parallel and overlapping investigations.
Our specialist financial crime team is at the forefront of cases involving individuals who have been prosecuted following a DPA. This includes the successful defence of Chris Bush, the former Managing Director of Tesco, prosecuted by the SFO for fraud and false accounting after the company agreed a DPA in which he was named as a wrongdoer in an alleged £250m profit overstatement. And the successful defence of Nick Woods a former executive at Serco, prosecuted by the SFO for fraud after the company agreed a DPA in which he was blamed for concealing profits in government outsourcing contracts.
In the Tesco case, the Judge dismissed the case having heard six weeks of prosecution evidence, when he concluded there was no case to answer. In the Serco case the Judge refused an application by the SFO to adjourn the trial to remedy disclosure failures before the close of the prosecution case, expressing concern as to the nature of the prosecution case.
The team currently act for a former senior executive from G4S, being prosecuted by the SFO on allegations of fraud following a DPA agreed by the company.
The team has significant experience in:
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+44 (0)20 7702 5331 or email us.
