Government commits to crackdown on fraud, bribery and corruption with further investment
Victims of fraud and economic crime will be better protected through a funding boost outlined in the Spending Review for the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) as part of the government鈥檚 Plan for Change to cut crime and plan to invest in Britain鈥檚 renewal.
- Serious Fraud Office receives further investment to tackle serious economic聽
- Funding will be used to build the SFO鈥檚 intelligence function to intercept criminality earlier in complex cases聽
- Funding will be used to improve digital capabilities and streamline resources
More than 拢8 million of investment over the next three years will be spent on strengthening the SFO鈥檚 intelligence and information-gathering work and continuously expanding the agency鈥檚 use of technology to assist with disclosure.聽
The extra funding, which is in addition to the 拢9.3 million of funding announced in the Budget, will be used to bolster SFO鈥檚 intelligence capabilities so it can proactively鈥� identify and progress the biggest and complex economic crimes.聽聽
The Attorney General Lord Hermer KC said:聽
鈥淔raud and serious economic crime destroy people鈥檚 finances and hurts the reputation of doing business in the UK.聽聽
鈥淭his government is committed to kick-starting economic growth and this additional funding to SFO will modernise their services to tackle serious economic crime, while continuously improving their capabilities to seize assets and make returns to the taxpayer.鈥澛�
Nicholas聽Ephgrave QPM, Director of the Serious Fraud Office, said:聽
鈥淭his settlement, which provides long-term funding for the Serious Fraud Office recognises the essential work we do in tackling the most serious economic crimes and safeguarding the聽UK economy so it can continue to thrive.聽
鈥淭his settlement聽will allow us to invest in our intelligence capability, expand our investigative reach and strengthen our ability to recover criminal assets, including crypto assets, wherever they may be.鈥澛�
For background
- SFO鈥檚 current (24/25) budget is 拢89.34m. This announcement confirms that over the next three years SFO budget will rise by 拢8.30m across three years to 拢97.64m.鈥�
- The additional investment will primarily support the development of SFO鈥檚 intelligence work: Director Ephgrave鈥檚 speech at RUSI 13 February 2024
- Funding will also support SFO鈥檚 ongoing development of proceeds of crime capability and use of tech on disclosure: Fraud crackdown as government provides funding to SFO