Philip Rubens comments on Anti-corruption chief fears impact of SFO break-up

Wed, 01 Jun 2011

http://www.trust.org/trustlaw/news/anti-corruption-chief-fears-impact-of-sfo-break-up

Anti-corruption group Transparency International has said it has "serious concerns" about the UK's ability to successfully prosecute companies under the forthcoming Bribery Act 2010, following suggestions that the Serious Fraud office will effectively be disbanded.

Philip Rubens, said the mooted break-up of the SFO would cause a fall in morale among staff, not least because of the departure of senior officials to the private sector. "This will put a blockage on their ability to prosecute cases efficiently when senior people leave who have detailed knowledge of the cases. It will be very difficult to replace people in an organisation which potentially will be disbanded," he said.

He added that the splitting of investigatory and prosecutorial powers could lead to big problems. "There is the real possibility that certain cases are going to fall through the cracks of the differences between the two skill sets and I would be very concerned about that."