Questions for fraud investigators after Barclays trio acquitted

Partner Bambos Tsiattalou comments in relation to the recent acquittal of three former Barclays executives and the repercussions of this for the Serious Fraud Office, in the Daily Mail, This is Money, Yahoo News and AOL.

Bambos’ comments were published in the Daily Mail, This is Money, Yahoo News and AOL, 28 February 2020. They were also published across regional media outlets such as York Press, Oxford Mail and the Jersey Post.

“The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) faced questions over how it handles cases on Friday as a jury shot down charges against three former Barclays executives accused of sending secret fees to Qatar.

It took under six hours for jurors to clear three Barclays bosses of fraud in a case that the SFO has been pursuing for eight years.

It is the latest failure for the fraud investigators, whose record has been tarnished by a series of high-profile cases…

Bambos Tsiattalou, financial crime lawyer at Stokoe Partnership Solicitors, said: “This is a huge blow to the SFO and its reputation. Today’s decision brings into question the effectiveness of the department.

“It will now be essential to conduct a thorough review of procedures within the SFO, with this being their most high profile failure to date, and the judgment of key decision makers within the department must surely be brought into question.””