Latest news with #NickEphgrave
Telegraph
19-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Army of undercover agents to target boardroom crooks
Britain's most senior fraud-buster is planning to hire an army of whistleblowers and undercover agents as part of a crackdown on white-collar crime in the City. Nick Ephgrave, chief of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), has vowed to ramp up the use of 'covert tactics' as he relies on skills learnt during three decades in the Metropolitan Police. As part of the overhaul, he wants undercover officers, paid informants and targeted surveillance operations to help pin down perpetrators of complex corporate frauds. 'Fraudsters are just criminals acting in a different sphere,' he said. 'They're cheating ordinary people, taking money, and damaging the country – the same as gunrunners, drug smugglers and all the rest. 'We should therefore use as much of the tactical armoury that we can against them. That was something I brought in from my policing background, and we are continuing to build that capability.' More than 3.3m frauds were reported in 2024, resulting in in losses worth £1.17bn. This was a 12pc increase on the 3m cases the previous year, according to a UK Finance report. Mr Ephgrave claims to have already made significant headway on tackling the issue since taking over the SFO in 2023, but he is not resting on his laurels. 'I've opened 12 cases since I've started, more than any other director in that period of time,' he said. 'You've got a very, very hungry director of the SFO that is determined to find out. I'm pushing for whistleblowing. I'm pushing for people to come forward. I'm using more covert tactics. I'm getting into your boardrooms. 'Criminals are bullies. They steal, they cheat, they hurt people. You need to stand up to them, and I enjoy doing that. Who wouldn't want to get fired up and enthusiastic about doing that job? 'That's the same motivation whether you're a PC on the beat or director of the SFO.' Police force To boost his cause, Mr Ephgrave is planning to join other forces across Britain in paying whistleblowers for information. 'You only need to look at America to see how effective a properly resourced and arranged incentivised whistleblowing scheme is,' he said. 'Since 2012, 700 UK nationals have gone to the States to blow the whistle, when they could have done it here and this country could have benefited from that. 'Not only could we potentially have had the prosecutions here, but the fines and the money that comes from those prosecutions goes into the Treasury. We've lost all that – it's gone to America.' Prior to taking the top job at the SFO, Mr Ephgrave had served as the third-highest-ranking officer in the Metropolitan Police Service under the leadership of Cressida Dick. This set him apart from all other former SFO directors, who forged their careers as lawyers before taking on the top job at the fraud agency. 'When I came to the end of my policing career, I still had plenty of fire in my belly,' he said. 'I still wanted to be involved in law enforcement. I still wanted to do the best I could for this country.' Now, as the SFO's new director, he wants to use what he learnt in the police to help the UK fraud agency take a more 'practical and pragmatic approach'. 'I spent 35 years investigating stuff in the police so I do have the benefit of a huge amount of experience,' he said. 'I've made all the mistakes. I've done all the things to learn. 'Policing operates in a much faster-paced environment. It's a quicker turnaround. We can learn some of those lessons and bring them into the SFO and we've been doing that.' He believes such tactics can help the SFO take shortcuts to fast-track fraud cases in a way that avoids dragging the agency into risky and expensive trials in court. Growth mission The plan forms part of a wider carrot-and-stick approach to tackling fraud through which Mr Ephgrave is seeking to offer deals in the form of deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs). The agreements let companies avoid criminal trials and typically result in them being forced to pay a fine. 'If you come forward, self-disclose, and fully cooperate with us, we will enter into a DPA with you,' Mr Ephgrave said, 'which means your company can survive and carry on being a profitable organisation, carry on employing people, and carry on being a benefit to the country.' Whistleblowers also offer a way to cut out much of the time spent trawling through documents by pointing the SFO's investigators directly to the source. 'The average size of our investigation is about 5m documents,' Mr Ephgrave said. 'We have a current case on our books with more than 40m documents. One thing whistleblowing can do is take us to the source of the evidence much more quickly, so we haven't got to go out and trawl through tons and tons of stuff.' This renewed focus has already seen him take 'tough decisions to shut cases' that were going nowhere. 'We've got limited resources,' he said. 'I cannot afford to have teams working away on lost causes, so we have to be really hard-nosed and say: 'We're not going anywhere with this''. As for the recent £8.3m funding boost from the Government's spending review, he plans to invest the cash in the SFO's intelligence capabilities and expand its investigative reach. 'We fundamentally believe the SFO is a crucial actor in the growth mission,' he said. 'This country has to be a reliable and safe place for businesses to conduct their business, which means we can have no tolerance for corruption, bribery or large-scale fraud. 'We will pursue every allegation that is appropriate for us to pursue to make this country a really safe and secure place to do business and that's what's going to drive growth. 'If we don't do that, if we fall down on our mission and let all that stuff slip, then this is going to become a wild west again, and reputable companies are going to think twice about investing here.'
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Microsoft data centre at heart of alleged £3m bribery plot
A Microsoft data centre is at the heart of an alleged £3m bribery plot involving two British construction companies. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) on Monday raided five properties across London, Kent, Surrey and Somerset and made three arrests, as it launched an international investigation into suspected corruption over construction of the site. Officials have accused individuals at Kent-based construction firm Blu-3 of paying more than £3m in bribes to former associates of larger rival Mace Group in relation to the construction of a Microsoft data centre in the Netherlands. On Wednesday, more than 70 SFO staff searched four homes and one commercial property to gather evidence as part of the investigation. Authorities in Monaco also searched one of the suspect's properties in the region. Nick Ephgrave, SFO director, said: 'Paying bribes to do business undermines our financial markets, the reputation of British companies and the rule of law and will not be tolerated. 'Today's action is a reminder that we will take rapid and robust action to tackle suspected bribery and corruption wherever it appears – at home and overseas.' Data centres, which are used to store and process data, are experiencing rapid growth, driven by huge increases in demand from areas such as cloud computing and streaming. This is expected to accelerate further due to the vast troves of data required to power artificial intelligence. Microsoft operates more than 300 data centres in more than 34 countries worldwide, including its large facility in the Hollands Kroon area in the north of the Netherlands. It has previously unveiled plans to invest £2.5bn in Britain, including the construction of a new data centre in North London and expansion of computer capacity in Cardiff. The boom has fuelled a wave of work for construction companies, who are racing to cash in on lucrative construction projects. However, plans for large new data centres risk sparking anger from local residents. Earlier this month, Angela Rayner was accused of 'annihilating' the green belt through a £3.75bn government-backed plan to build Europe's largest data centre in Hertfordshire. A spokesman for Mace Group said: 'Mace has a zero tolerance approach to breaches of our code of ethics, and takes any allegations of bribery extremely seriously. 'We are committed to fully supporting the Serious Fraud Office in investigating allegations against any former associates of the group.' Microsoft declined to comment. Blu-3 has been contacted for comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
01-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Microsoft data centre at heart of alleged £3m bribery plot
A Microsoft data centre is at the heart of an alleged £3m bribery plot involving two British construction companies. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) on Monday raided five properties across London, Kent, Surrey and Somerset and made three arrests, as it launched an international investigation into suspected corruption over construction of the site. Officials have accused individuals at Kent-based construction firm Blu-3 of paying more than £3m in bribes to former associates of larger rival Mace Group in relation to the construction of a Microsoft data centre in the Netherlands. On Wednesday, more than 70 SFO staff searched four homes and one commercial property to gather evidence as part of the investigation. Authorities in Monaco also searched one of the suspect's properties in the region. Reputation of British companies 'undermined' Nick Ephgrave, SFO director, said: 'Paying bribes to do business undermines our financial markets, the reputation of British companies and the rule of law and will not be tolerated. 'Today's action is a reminder that we will take rapid and robust action to tackle suspected bribery and corruption wherever it appears – at home and overseas.' Data centres, which are used to store and process data, are experiencing rapid growth, driven by huge increases in demand from areas such as cloud computing and streaming. This is expected to accelerate further due to the vast troves of data required to power artificial intelligence. Microsoft operates more than 300 data centres in more than 34 countries worldwide, including its large facility in the Hollands Kroon area in the north of the Netherlands. It has previously unveiled plans to invest £2.5bn in Britain, including the construction of a new data centre in North London and expansion of computer capacity in Cardiff. The boom has fuelled a wave of work for construction companies, who are racing to cash in on lucrative construction projects. However, plans for large new data centres risk sparking anger from local residents. Earlier this month, Angela Rayner was accused of 'annihilating' the green belt through a £3.75bn government-backed plan to build Europe's largest data centre in Hertfordshire. A spokesman for Mace Group said: 'Mace has a zero tolerance approach to breaches of our code of ethics, and takes any allegations of bribery extremely seriously. 'We are committed to fully supporting the Serious Fraud Office in investigating allegations against any former associates of the group.'
The Guardian
30-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Serious Fraud Office make three arrests after dawn raids in bribery investigation
UK fraud investigators have made three arrests in dawn raids targeting alleged bribery by a British company during the construction of a Dutch datacentre for Microsoft. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said on Wednesday that it was targeting UK company Blu-3 and former associates of the global construction firm Mace Group. Individuals at Blu-3 are suspected of paying more than £3m in bribes to the people linked to Mace Group. More than 70 investigators searched four homes and one commercial property in London, Kent, Surrey and Somerset on Wednesday morning, the SFO said. Authorities in Monaco simultaneously searched a suspect's premises with help from the UK. Three people were arrested for questioning, and evidence was seized for further examination. Microsoft is not under investigation. Blu-3, founded in 2004, helps to manage large construction projects. It has helped Mace in the construction of the Shard in London, the UK's tallest building, and was involved also in the regeneration of London's Battersea power station and the Chelsea Barracks. It has also worked on the UK's HS2 railway project, for Transport for London and for the struggling Thames Water. More recently, Blu-3 has focused on datacentres, amid a boom in demand for buildings to house the computer servers on which internet and artificial intelligence companies rely. It made revenues of nearly £100m in the year to March 2024, and said it had a 'strong pipeline of work for 2025', according to accounts published before the arrests. Blu-3 first entered the datacentre market in the Netherlands in 2014. Its website refers to a 'large-scale datacentre project on behalf of a blue chip software company' managed by Mace in Middenmeer, north Holland. Mace Group, which employs more than 7,400 people, made revenues of £2.4bn in 2023. The UK-headquartered company has worked on a wide range of projects, including Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and the Tate Modern gallery extension. The SFO has faced scrutiny over the length of its investigations, as well as other troubles such as the £250m cost of an investigation into Kazakh mining company Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation which resulted in no charges. Nick Ephgrave, the director of the SFO, said: 'Paying bribes to do business undermines our financial markets, the reputation of British companies and the rule of law and will not be tolerated. 'Today's action is a reminder that we will take rapid and robust action to tackle suspected bribery and corruption wherever it appears – at home and overseas.' The solicitor general and Labour MP, Lucy Rigby, attended one of the arrests in north London this morning. A Mace spokesperson said: 'Mace has a zero tolerance approach to breaches of our code of ethics and takes any allegations of bribery extremely seriously. We are committed to fully supporting the Serious Fraud Office in investigating allegations against any former associates of the group.' Blu-3 and Microsoft were approached for comment.
Reuters
30-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
UK fraud office investigates Blu-3, Mace Group in bribery probe
LONDON, April 30 (Reuters) - Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) on Wednesday arrested three people as part of an international bribery investigation into British infrastructure provider Blu-3 and former associates of the global construction firm Mace Group. The SFO said in a statement that more than 70 of its staff searched four homes and one commercial property in Britain and Monaco authorities searched another suspect's premises. The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade and tariff news. Sign up here. The SFO said individuals at Blu-3 were suspected of paying over 3 million pounds ($3.99 million) in bribes to former associates of the Mace Group relating to the construction of a data centre in the Netherlands for Microsoft. Neither Mace Group, which built London's Shard skyscraper, nor Blu-3 immediately responded to requests for comment. The three suspects were arrested for questioning, the SFO said. "Paying bribes to do business undermines our financial markets, the reputation of British companies and the rule of law and will not be tolerated," said SFO's director Nick Ephgrave. ($1 = 0.7514 pounds)
