UK's Serious Fraud Office Reviews 20 Cases After Bribery Case Fails

Collapse of the Bribery Prosecution

LONDON, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Britain's Serious Fraud Office on Thursday dropped the prosecution of three people over alleged bribery in Sierra Leone and announced a review of potential disclosure issues in around 20 other cases.

Background of the Case

The demise of the London Mining case is the latest prosecution to collapse after the SFO had problems with disclosing relevant evidence to the defence.

Implications for the SFO

The SFO had opened its investigation in 2016 and charged former chief executive David Graeme Hossie, 60, ex-CFO Rachel Rhodes, 55, and former consultant Ariel Armon, 57, in 2023.

Future of Ongoing Investigations

They pleaded not guilty to corruption and in December their trial at London's Southwark Crown Court was delayed to January 2028, in part because the SFO needed more time to review evidence that may have had to be disclosed to the defence.

The SFO's lawyer Esther Schutzer-Weissmann said on Thursday that there is "no longer a realistic prospect of conviction" and Judge Christopher Hehir formally directed not guilty verdicts.

Hossie, Rhodes and Armon welcomed the decision. It demonstrates "a profound collapse in the checks and balances meant to ensure a fair trial", Armon said in a statement.

ANOTHER PROBLEM FOR THE SFO

The SFO, which had already discovered an issue with its old disclosure system, said on Thursday it had identified another problem where some material may not have been available for review.

"We recognise that, although we have not seen any evidence of this, we need to satisfy ourselves that no relevant and disclosable material was missed," the SFO said.

Helen Taylor from campaign group Spotlight on Corruption said the collapse of the case "raises serious questions about how these disclosure problems were missed in past reviews".

The end of the London Mining case is an embarrassment for the SFO, whose director Nick Ephgrave last month announced he was standing down early at the end of March. He did not specify why.

Its prosecution of former executives at security company G4S collapsed over disclosure issues in 2023, as did a case against two former employees at government contractor Serco in 2021.

Ephgrave's two-and-a-half-year tenure was marked by successes, notably the speeding up of investigations and decisions to bring charges.

(Reporting by Sam Tobin; editing by Barbara Lewis)