U.K. Serious Fraud Office Must Pay Mining Company After Botched Corruption Probe

null By Richard VanderfordDec. 21, 2023 5:24 pm ETThe SFO has faced scrutiny in recent years over enforcement missteps. Photo: Betty Laura Zapata/Bloomberg NewsThe U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office must pay Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. after it began a corruption investigation based on tips improperly obtained from a senior lawyer for the company, a U.K. court said.The SFO committed a “serious breach” of its own duties by privately communicating with a lawyer then at Dechert, a law firm hired by the company to run an internal investigation into possible bribery, Justice David Waksman of the High Court in London said Thursday in a written judgment. Without those communications, the agency wouldn’t have launched its investigation, Waksman found.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8Sponsored OffersTurboTax: Up to 10% off online tax services with TurboTax discount codeThe Motley Fool: Epic Bundle - 3x Expert Stock RecommendationsH&R

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U.K. Serious Fraud Office Must Pay Mining Company After Botched Corruption Probe

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Richard Vanderford

Dec. 21, 2023 5:24 pm ET

The SFO has faced scrutiny in recent years over enforcement missteps. Photo: Betty Laura Zapata/Bloomberg News

The U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office must pay Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. after it began a corruption investigation based on tips improperly obtained from a senior lawyer for the company, a U.K. court said.

The SFO committed a “serious breach” of its own duties by privately communicating with a lawyer then at Dechert, a law firm hired by the company to run an internal investigation into possible bribery, Justice David Waksman of the High Court in London said Thursday in a written judgment. Without those communications, the agency wouldn’t have launched its investigation, Waksman found.