Serco fraud acquittals deal a heavy blow to the UK prosecutor

MLex Market Insight

The acquittal of two Serco executives who had been facing fraud charges in the UK amounts to a serious blow for the Serious Fraud Office. The enforcer has been struggling to secure the conviction of individuals, even when it has succeeded in demanding fines and admissions of guilt from the companies that employ those charged. Meanwhile, anyone accepting a bribe on the idyllic island of Barbados could soon be facing the long arm of US law, with a court sentencing a former minister of the Caribbean country to two years’ jail over money-laundering charges. The case of Donville Inniss has highlighted how US money-laundering laws can be used as a backdoor avenue for prosecutors to target foreign officials.