Serco fraud acquittals deal a heavy blow to the UK prosecutor; The long, extra-territorial arm of US law
07 May 2021 00:00
Duration: 18:30
The acquittal of two Serco executives who had been facing fraud charges in the UK amounts to a serious blow for the Serious Fraud Office. The enforcer has been struggling to secure the conviction of individuals, even when it has succeeded in demanding fines and admissions of guilt from the companies that employ those charged. Meanwhile, anyone accepting a bribe on the idyllic island of Barbados could soon be facing the long arm of US law, with a court sentencing a former minister of the Caribbean country to two years’ jail over money-laundering charges. The case of Donville Inniss has highlighted how US money-laundering laws can be used as a backdoor avenue for prosecutors to target foreign officials.
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A judge’s order for two former Serco executives to be acquitted of fraud charges is not just a humiliation for the SFO.
Editorial Team
James Panichi Senior Editor, Asia Pacific
James, an Australian journalist with over 25 years’ experience in print and electronic media, helps to oversee MLex’s coverage of regulatory risk in Asia, with special attention to Australia and New Zealand. In 2016, James was appointed as MLex’s managing editor for continental Europe, overseeing the Brussels bureau’s coverage of EU regulatory affairs and managing a team of 16 journalists in Brussels and Geneva. Previously James worked for the European Voice newspaper, before joining the... Read more
Martin Coyle Senior Correspondent
Martin Coyle is a senior correspondent, based in MLex's London office, reporting daily on bribery and corruption issues in the UK and Europe. Previously he was a senior editor at Thomson Reuters where he covered anti-money laundering, financial crime and regulatory enforcement issues. Prior to that he was editor of The Accountant, the world's oldest accounting publication, and International Accounting Bulletin, a bi-monthly business journal owned by Lafferty.