§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Solicitor-General how many people specialise in combating overseas bribery in the(a) Crown Prosecution Service and (b) Serious Fraud Office.[163489]
§ The Solicitor-GeneralProsecutions under part 12 of the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2002 are undertaken by corruption specialists within CPS Casework Directorate.
Taking account of part-time workers, there were 60.3 senior prosecutors within CPS Casework Directorate at 1 March 2004, all of whom have experience of either corruption prosecutions, international work or both.
In view of the very small number of cases so far referred to CPS Casework Directorate, no prosecutor currently specialises exclusively in dealing with overseas corruption.
All SFO lawyers and investigators are required to have a thorough knowledge of fraud related offences, including corruption and the offences falling under part 12 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001. However, 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, including allegations of bribery by UK citizens or companies overseas. As such there are no staff members whose role is solely the investigation and prosecution of overseas bribery.