Fraud Focus: Is the Serious Fraud Office fit for purpose?, a new paper by IEA Academic and Research Director James Forder has been featured in Politico’s London Playbook and law trade publication Legal Futures.

Politico wrote:

“The report accuses the SFO of mishandling documents, using unlawful search warrants and, in one extraordinary case, forging a letter. Former Justice Secretary Robert Buckland called for an “urgent and thorough examination.”

Nick Hilborne wrote in Legal Futures:

“The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) said the ‘depth of the problems’ at the SFO meant that ‘serious consideration’ should be given to ‘radical institutional change’, such as abolishing the organisation and splitting its responsibilities among other government agencies.

“James Forder, research director at the IEA, said in the discussion paper Is the Serious Fraud Office Fit for Purpose? that ‘the most striking aspect’ of the problems experienced by the SFO were the ‘long string of failures’ in performance.”

Read the Politico London Playbook here and the Legal Future article here.