HC Deb 02 February 2004 vol 417 cc613-4W
Malcolm Bruce

To ask the Solicitor-General how many(a) allegations and (b) reports of bribery of a foreign public official by a UK company or individual have been forwarded to the Serious Fraud Office by the Fraud Section of the Department of Justice in the US since 1997; and on what dates they were received. [151523]

The Solicitor-General

The SFO has received no reports of allegations of bribery of a foreign public official by a UK company or individual from the US Department of Justice since 1997.

One request for mutual legal assistance has been made involving a suspicion of bribery. In this instance the alleged offences took place prior to the implementation of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001.

Mr. Simon Thomas

To ask the Solicitor-General how many allegations of bribery of a foreign public official the Serious Fraud Office received between November 1997 and February 2002; and how many of these allegations led to an investigation. [151403]

The Solicitor-General

The SFO have identified four cases referred to it between November 1997 and February 2002 where bribery of a foreign official has been one of the allegations. None of these cases have resulted in an investigation.

Mr. Simon Thomas

To ask the Solicitor-General how many of the requests for mutual legal assistance on corruption offences received by the Serious Fraud Office have(a) indicated an offence by a UK individual or company and (b) led to an investigation by the SFO into a possible UK offence. [151404]

The Solicitor-General

Prior to the implementation of the Anti-terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001, the SFO did not record the category of offences referred for mutual legal assistance by foreign authorities.

Since February 2002, the SFO has identified three mutual legal assistance requests where there may be suspicion of corruption offences of persons overseas involving UK citizens or companies.

These requests have not resulted in a domestic investigation. Two of the requests are still being assessed and the relevant offences in the other request took place prior to the implementation of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001.

Mr. Simon Thomas

To ask the Solicitor-General whether the Serious Fraud Office has received additional resources for enforcing Part 12 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 since February 2002. [151405]

The Solicitor-General

The SFO has received no additional resource since February 2002 specifically for the purpose of investigating and prosecuting using the provisions of Part 12 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001.

As part of the 2002 Spending Review, the resource budget of the Serious Fraud Office will rise to £35.34 million by the end of the 2005–06 financial year. The Serious Fraud Office plans to use some of this resource to expand its permanent staff numbers from 232 to approximately 300 by the end of that financial year.

The Serious Fraud Office does not allocate its staff resource to a particular type of crime or case. Each case referred to the SFO is assessed on its individual merits, and this includes allegations of bribery by UK citizens or companies overseas.