R (Soma Oil and Gas Ltd) v Director of the Serious Fraud Office

Queen's Bench Division (Administrative Court), Lord Justice Gross and Mrs Justice Andrews, 17 August; 12 October 2016

Judicial review - Serious Fraud Office - Bribery Act 2010 - Ongoing investigation - Rationality of decision making - European Convention on Human Rights, article 8 - EU Directive 2012/13/EU

In August 2013, Soma Oil & Gas Ltd ("Soma") entered into an agreement with the Federal Government of Somalia ("FGS") to conduct a seismic exploration programme in Somalia. In March/April 2014, Soma agreed to provide financial support to the Somali Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources under the terms of what became known as the Capacity Building Arrangements. The FGS used the capacity building payments to give allowances to a number of individuals on the Government's payroll.