Edward Grange comments on the SFO’s decision to end its investigations into GSK and Rolls-Royce in GIR

The SFO’s new director has scrapped a bribery investigation into GlaxoSmithKline and decided against pursuing individuals linked to the agency’s landmark Rolls-Royce bribery case.

Ending long-running speculation from within the London white-collar community, the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) released a statement on 22 February announcing that the prosecution of individuals tied to a bribery scheme allegedly orchestrated UK engineering company Rolls-Royce, which led to the UK’s largest deferred prosecution agreement (DPA), is no longer in the public interest.

Partner Edward Grange commented:

“Back in October 2018, Lisa Osofsky identified the need for the SFO to accelerate its investigation and prosecutions into individuals. The decision today to close the Rolls Royce and GlaxoSmithKline investigations brings to an end theses long running cases that will provide closure to the individuals who endured years under investigation with the uncertainty that carries. Now that the SFO has finally concluded two of the legacy cases Ms Osofsky inherited from her predecessor, what remains to be seen is whether the SFO will continue to prioritise and accelerate its investigation of individuals in cases opened more recently.”

Read the full article in GIR here, behind a paywall.