This post was written by Rosanne M. Kay.
Word on the street is that the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) has a number of active investigations into potential offences under the Bribery Act 2010. So far, the Bribery Act has only been used in a reasonably minor prosecution of a court clerk who took bribes to erase motoring offences from court records.
Despite rumours about active Bribery Act investigations, there are persistent question marks about the SFO’s ability to take on such investigations and prosecutions. The SFO has suffered significant cutbacks and, apparently, only has £2million in its war chest to enforce the Act.
However, the public are highlighting potential issues to the SFO. Apparently, its hotline is receiving around 500 calls a month and the whistle-blowing section of its website has had 200 hits.
