Policy background Serious Fraud Office – pre investigation powers
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) was established in 1988, with the remit of investigating and prosecuting the most serious economic crimes, including fraud and bribery and corruption. The SFO has a unique set of investigative powers, provided by section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act 1987 (CJA) which SFO officers can use to require a person to answer questions, furnish information, or produce documents. These powers can only be used following the Director of the SFO’s decision to commence an investigation; alternative means must be used to gather information in advance of that decision.
	In recognition of the difficulty posed for the SFO in gathering information by alternative means in relation to suspected cases of international bribery and corruption, in 2008 SFO officers were granted access to their powers under section 2 at the ‘pre-investigation’ stage. This enables the SFO to gather more effectively the information necessary to allow the Director to decide whether to take on a case (they may also decide to refer the case elsewhere). This legislative change has had a positive impact on the SFO’s cases; in some cases, it has allowed the organisation to more promptly determine whether a crime is likely to have taken place, and usually leads to the earliest stages of an investigation being delivered more quickly.
	As fraud is one of the most prevalent crimes in the UK, and poses a significant threat to UK citizens, it is no longer justifiable for the SFO to have access to enhanced powers in relation to only international bribery and corruption. By granting access to enhanced pre-investigation powers in relation to fraud cases, the SFO expects to be able to progress cases of suspected fraud more quickly through the earliest stages of an investigation. This may have consequential benefits such as allowing proceeds of crime to be restrained or frozen at an earlier stage, preserving more funds for victims.