Serious Fraud Office Issues Cooperation Guidance

Serious Fraud Office Issues Cooperation Guidance

August 23, 2019, Covington Alert

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) released its much-anticipated cooperation guidance on August 6, 2019. The five-page document sets out the steps an organization can take to assist the SFO in an investigation and thereby maximise the organization’s chances of avoiding prosecution. The publication represents a welcome change in direction on the part of the SFO, which has previously refused requests to provide guidance on how a company should respond to an SFO investigation. However, there are elements of the new guidance which might cause companies unease.