§ Mr. David ShawTo ask the Attorney-General what sums have been recovered by administrators or receivers in each of the past four years as a result of investigations by the Serious Fraud Office.
The Attorney-GeneralThe purpose of investigations by the Serious Fraud Office is to establish whether or not criminal offences have been committed.
The Serious Fraud Office does co-operate with administrators and receivers, but insofar as funds are recovered by the latter, such information is not routinely reported to the Serious Fraud Office. It would in any event be impossible to specify the property recovered as the result of investigations by the Serious Fraud Office.
§ Mr. David ShawTo ask the Attorney-General if he will make a statement on the development of practical co-operation between the Serious Fraud Office and authorities in(a) Switzerland and (b) Liechtenstein.
The Attorney GeneralThe passing of the Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) Act 1990 enabled the United Kingdom to ratify the European convention on mutual assistance in criminal matters. The Convention has been ratified by both Switzerland and Liechtenstein and thus in addition to bilateral assistance on a reciprocal basis the scope for co-operation has been enlarged.
The director of the Serious Fraud Office is satisfied that effective channels of communication have been estalished to enable full advantage of these arrangements to be taken.