SFO drops cases against GSK and Rolls
THE Serious Fraud Office has dropped a probe into Glaxosmithkline’s “commercial practices” as well as a corruption case against executives at Rolls-royce for lack of evidence.
Investigators said the cases had little chance of a successful prosecution, closing them down after five years investigating GSK and six years looking at Rolls.
The aerospace giant paid a fine of almost £500m two years ago, admitting decades of corruption across the globe. It also paid major settlements to US and Brazilian authorities. Its deferred prosecution agreement was struck in January 2017 after a four-year investigation.
SFO officials spent another two years building a case against individuals at Rolls-royce, but concluded there was too little evidence to prosecute anyone personally for the wrongdoing in both cases.
“After an extensive examination I have concluded that there is either insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction, or it is not in the public interest to bring a prosecution in these cases,” said Lisa Osofsky, SFO director.
GSK said it was “pleased that the SFO … concluded that no further action is required”.
The cases are the latest in a long line of failed high-profile investigations. A case against former Tesco executives was kicked out by a judge in December. But the SFO has had successes. Its investigation into FH Bertling resulted in nine convictions. An Alstom probe led to five convictions.
“This case calls into question whether the SFO was correct to offer Rolls-royce a DPA. It is hard to believe the interests of justice have been served or that there has been proper acknowledgement of the victims of the crime,” said Robert Barrington of Transparency International UK.