Driven, but on the right road?

Timon Molloy, Editor

If the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is able to keep up the momentum evident in its reform programme, inspired by Jessica de Grazia’s blistering review of June last year, fraudsters might well have cause for concern. Director Richard Alderman, a veteran of the ill-starred Assets Recovery Agency - swallowed by the Serious Organised Crime Agency after taking too long to turn a profit on its civil recovery efforts – is clearly alive to the need for quick results. The SFO annual report for 2008/9 celebrates a series of ‘firsts’, notably: the first serious crime prevention order against a twice-convicted fraudster; the first civil settlement around inaccurate accounting for certain “payment irregularities” at an overseas subsidiary of Balfour Beatty plc; appointment of Vivian Robinson, QC as its first General Counsel; and the launch of the SFO’s first fraud reporting and whistleblowing line (+44 (0) 20 7239 7388).