Andrew Smith quoted in the media on KBR v Director of the SFO

Partner Andrew Smith has been quoted in multiple outlets, including the Financial Times, The Telegraph, Thomson Reuters, Daily Mail, Law360 and Law.com, on the case R (on the application of KBR, Inc) v Director of the Serious Fraud Office, which determined whether the Director of the SFO can issue a notice pursuant to section 2(3) of the Criminal Justice 1987 requiring a foreigner to produce material held overseas. The Supreme Court upheld the appeal and KBR has won, meaning foreign companies cannot be compelled to produce documents held overseas.

“The judgment is a welcome reminder of the presumption against extraterritoriality in English criminal law. The 1987 statute which created the SFO’s powers may be ill-suited to modern age, when the SFO frequently investigates multinationals holding relevant documents overseas. But it is not the role of the courts to rewrite statutes merely to further the public interest in investigating crime,” said Andrew.

You can access the full article in Thomson Reuters. Daily Mail, Law Society Gazette, Global Banking and Finance Review and Law.com. You will need a subscription to access the articles in the Financial Times, The Telegraph and Law360.