About The Serious Fraud Office 

The SFO is a specialist, independent law enforcement agency founded by parliament in 1988. It is overseen by the Attorney General and is part of the UK criminal justice system with jurisdiction in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is led by the Director, Nick Ephgrave QPM. The Board is chaired by one of the Non-Executive Directors, Claire Bassett. As an operationally independent prosecuting authority, the SFO tackles the most serious or complex fraud, bribery and corruption. It also pursues criminals for their financial benefit from crime and collaborates internationally, assisting overseas jurisdictions with their investigations.

The SFO brings together experts including lawyers, investigators, accountants and technical specialists to investigate and prosecute the UK’s biggest and most challenging economic crimes.  It has a range of tools to achieve this, including not just the power to prosecute, but also civil powers to recover the proceeds of crime and Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) – a court-approved resolution between a company and a prosecutor that often includes fines, compensation and commitments to improve corporate compliance.


The SFO has accomplished major results in recent years, including:

  • The largest ever corporate sentence in the UK, with the £280 million penalty secured against Glencore Energy UK Ltd in November 2022.
  • Prosecutions delivering justice for over 10,000 fraud victims in 2022 and 2023.
  • More ‘dirty money’ recovered than any other agency in 2022/23, accounting for more than a third of all proceeds of crime recovered nationally.
  • Over 190 years in prison sentences from convictions over the past five years.

We have an exciting pipeline of major new investigations, including the well publicised criminal investigation into the collapsed law firm Axiom Ince, the pre-paid funeral provider Safe Hands Plans, which collapsed with over 46,000 plan holders. We have brought fresh charges against ten more individuals across three cases last year, including over the collapse of Patisserie Valerie, which involved the closure of 70 shops and 900 job losses.

We also continue to use our unique operational expertise to shape our legislative framework. We have recently secured an expansion to our investigative powers in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, and we welcome the ongoing government review of disclosure and fraud led by Jonathan Fisher KC.
 


Our people

Nick Ephgrave QPM is the Director of the Serious Fraud Office and joined the organisation in September 2023. The SFO Board is chaired by the Claire Bassett (Chair of the SFO Board) and includes Sanjay Bhandari, Magnus Falk and James Thomson (Non-Executive Directors).

Our Executive Team includes Chief Operating Officer Abigail Howarth, interim Chief Capability Officer Freya Grimwood and General Counsel Sara Lawson KC. We have a full time equivalent of around 450 permanent Civil Service staff. Our staff includes investigators, lawyers, forensic accountants, analysts, digital forensics experts and a variety of other professionals in specialist and support roles.

Our strategy

In April 2024 we launched our five year strategy, describing the aspirations we have to be the pre-eminent specialist, innovative and collaborative agency which leads the fight against serious and complex fraud, bribery and corruption. Serious Fraud Office Strategy 2024-2029

Values and identity

Our values

PROFESSIONAL , COLLABORATIVE and INNOVATIVE – are our moral compass. They guide the work and behaviour of every member of staff at the SFO.

Our Identity

The characteristics of our identity – CONFIDENT , STRONG , DYNAMIC and PRAGMATIC – shape how we strive to work and serve as partners

Disability Confident Scheme (DCS)

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. Disability Confident employers offer an interview to a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for the job (this is the description of the job as set by the employer). To be considered for an interview you must have:

  • A physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term (over 12 months) adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day to day activities; or a long-term health condition; and
  • Demonstrated that you meet all the minimum qualifying criteria set out in the advertisement for the post at the application and testing stages.

The SFO is committed to equality of opportunity and diversity in all its employment practices, policies and procedures. This means that no employee or potential employee will receive less favourable treatment due to their race, sexual orientation, nationality, ethnic origin, disability, status. We are committed to the employment and career development of people with disabilities.

Meet the team

Claire Bassett
Chair of the Board, Serious Fraud Office

Claire Bassett has held senior positions across the public sector, many with a focus on the criminal justice system. She was Deputy Director General at the Independent Office for Police Conduct until May 2023 and has previously held executive posts at the Department for International Trade, the Electoral Commission, the Parole Board for England and Wales and the Criminal Cases Review Commission. Claire is also current vice-chair and trustee at the Internet Watch Foundation, an organisation that works within the UK and internationally to make the internet safer.
 

Nick Ephgrave
Director, Serious Fraud Office

Nick Ephgrave has been a public servant for over 30 years and has over a decade of experience leading large law enforcement organisations. He was previously Chief Constable of Surrey Police before he was appointed as Assistant Commissioner of London’s Metropolitan Police Service in 2019. In that role, Nick helped develop and deliver the strategic objectives of one of the world’s largest law enforcement organisations. Nick worked with UK and international partners to support the service’s investigations, strengthen its capabilities and deliver its mission of supporting victims of crime and protecting the UK public. Nick also spent over four years on the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC). Nick chaired the Criminal Justice Co-ordination Committee where he helped manage the UK nationwide development of professional practices, response to new legislation and adoption of new technology in the fight against crime.

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