Sara Chouraqui

Sara Chouraqui, the Joint Head of Fraud, Bribery, and Corruption at the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO), has announced that the agency plans to significantly increase its enforcement capabilities. Specifically, the SFO intends to recruit between 100 and 150 new investigators, prosecutors, accountants, and case workers, potentially pushing the total number of full-time staff at the agency to around 600.  This represents a roughly 25% increase in the SFO's investigative resources. The new SFO director, Nick Ephgrave, is said to be "determined" to increase the agency's capacity and deliver more cases "fast".  This push for greater enforcement activity comes as the UK government's Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill, which would expand the SFO's powers, is nearing the final stages of parliamentary approval. In the last financial year, the SFO opened one new criminal case and closed five, with a caseload of around 120 active matters as of March 2023.  One of its most significant recent cases was a £280 million bribery fine against Glencore Energy, the agency's largest-ever financial penalty following a guilty plea. The SFO has faced challenges with the recruitment and retention of permanent staff, with a high vacancy rate and a notable percentage of posts filled by temporary workers.  Increasing the agency's headcount is seen as a priority to address these staffing issues.