§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Attorney-General if he will list all those charged with offences relating to the Ferranti/ISC fraud; and if he will list, in each case, the pleas entered and the sentences imposed.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe investigation by the Serious Fraud Office commenced in September 1989 and was carried out in close co-operation with the United States prosecuting authorities because it was apparent that all the potential defendants were United States citizens residing in the United States.
At the conclusion of the investigation, a United States grand jury indicted 17 individuals and three corporations on charges of fraud. They included James Guerin, the former deputy chairman of Ferranti International Signals plc—the company which resulted from the merger of Ferranti and ISC in 1987.
In December 1991, Guerin and subsequently various other defendants pleaded guilty before the federal court in Philadelphia to offences involving fraud in respect of the merged company, committed both in the United Kingdom and the USA. All offences which might have been the subject of a United Kingdom trial were fully encompassed in the United States indictment which alleged, inter alia, the creation of fictitious contracts, with attendant false accounting designed to bolster the share price of ISC and achieve the merger with Ferranti. Accordingly, no extraditions can be, or have been, sought and no persons were charged in the United Kingdom with any offences in relation to the Ferranti investigation. Guerin was sentenced in June 1992 to a total of 15 years imprisonment and confiscation of substantial personal assets. Other defendants have yet to be sentenced and at least one trial is still pending.
At the conclusion of the investigation stage, the United States Attorney for Philadelphia issued the following statement:
The US Government received extensive co-operation and assistance from Britain's Serious Fraud Office and the Metropolitan Police. Their efforts exemplify the level of international law enforcement co-operation essential for the prosecution of criminal activity that ignores national boundaries.