Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

U.K.’s Financial Crimes Agency Wants Companies to Invest in Compliance

U.K.’s Financial Crimes Agency Wants Companies to Invest in Compliance

The U.K.’s major economic crimes investigative agency has taken steps to emphasize the need for companies to invest in programs and procedures designed to prevent wrongdoing, its director said on Tuesday.
The focus on the strength of companies’ compliance programs is a new one for the Serious Fraud Office. “The emphasis we place on it today is significantly stronger than it was when the agency was born” in the late 1980s, SFO Director Lisa Osofsky said at a Society of Corporate Compliance & Ethics conference.

Under Ms. Osofsky, who began her tenure in 2018, the SFO has offered additional guidance on how it handles corporate cases, including how it evaluates compliance programs.

“Are they part of the company’s DNA?” Ms. Osofsky asked compliance practitioners during an online speech. “Or do they just adorn a very nice couple of binders that are held on a bookshelf that don’t really do much more than provide window-dressing?”

The agency can credit companies with strong compliance programs by negotiating more lenient settlements with them. Ms. Osofsky pointed to two cases with divergent outcomes that she said showed the SFO’s commitment to doing so.

The SFO in July 2019 struck a £19.2 million ($24 million) deal with a subsidiary of public contractor Serco Group PLC. A year later, it reached a similar settlement with security-services company G4S PLC, which agreed to pay £38.5 million ($48.6 million).

Both cases involved allegations of fraud in connection with contracts to provide electronic-monitoring services to the U.K.’s Ministry of Justice. The offenses occurred between 2010 and 2013, according to the agreements.

Serco reported the misconduct and began cooperating with the SFO early, and was rewarded with a faster and less expensive resolution, Ms. Osofsky said. G4S took substantially longer to cooperate and received a smaller discount, she said.

The state of each companies’ compliance programs played a role in the outcomes, Ms. Osofsky said. “G4S was in a different place in its compliance journey,” she said. “It hadn’t yet embedded and thought through its compliance obligations in a way that Serco could demonstrate to us it had.”

Spokespersons for G4S and Serco declined to comment on Ms. Osofsky’s remarks.

In a first for the SFO, the G4S settlement also contained a provision requiring the appointment of a reviewer to ensure the company adhered to its agreement with the agency. “It is the first time we use such a construct to oversight the compliance development and compliance markers,” Ms. Osofsky said.

Under U.K. law, the arrangement is distinct from the so-called independent monitors used in the U.S. to ensure compliance with settlement agreements, she added.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Germany Seeks Taliban Deal to Deport Afghan Migrants
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
×