As fraud across the world is expected to rise in the wake of the credit crunch - the Director of the Serious Fraud Office, Richard Alderman, has announced that he is to visit Washington and New York to discuss closer ways of working with his US counterparts.
During 3 to 7 November 2008, Mr Alderman will be visiting the USA to meet with the FBI, the Department of Justice and both the District Attorneys Office and the Southern District Attorney's Office of New York. Amongst those he will meet is NY County District Attorney, Robert Morgenthau, who has spent more than 33 years in office and famously led the prosecutions into BCCI and former Tyco CEO, Dennis Kozloswski.
The detailed schedule of Mr. Alderman's visit will not be made public, but he will be discussing how authorities such as the SFO and the FBI can work together in the early detection of fraud and corruption. He will also be gaining an insight into the technology and methodology adopted by the US law enforcement agencies as well as speaking to investigators and lawyers working on joint projects, such as the United Nations Oil for Food investigation.
Mr Alderman will visit the FBI's training facility in Virginia to see for himself how FBI agents are trained. He is anxious to see if their methods can be adopted in the UK. Central to his visit to US authorities across the criminal justice system will be the sharing of best practice; discussing how we can strengthen co-operation and learn from each other.
Mr Alderman said: "Following the global turmoil surrounding the credit crunch I thought the time was right to visit the US; to learn how they handle fraud and corruption - from investigation to trial - and to discuss further ways of building on the strong working relationships we have with our US law enforcement colleagues."
End
Serious Fraud Office
Elm House,
10-16 Elm Street,
London WC1X 0BJ,
United Kingdom
Press Office tel: 020 7239 7001/7190
Main switchboard tel: 020 7239 7272
Mobile: 07818 076 688
Email: press.office@sfo.gov.uk
