Strategies for defending your business during an SFO investigation

Investigations by the SFO usually come as a surprise to the business under investigation. The first the business knows about it is likely to be when the SFO turns up at your premises for the raid. It can be quite a shock.  

On the other hand, the SFO will have received information about potential criminal activity, and had time to look into the allegations. They have planned the investigation, and prepared by going to court for search warrants and freezing orders.

With such an uneven balance, what is the best way to handle these investigations?

A good mantra is that the best defence is to not be defensive. The SFO values transparency and co-operation from the businesses it investigates, and you are more likely to achieve a settlement if you are fully co-operative with the investigation.

In turn, that means better optics or the business publicly, because you will not necessarily need to admit liability.

Self-report suspicions of criminal activity

In April 2025 the SFO launched guidance for corporates which gives them a route to avoiding prosecution.

Within that guidance, then SFO explains that self-reporting suspected corporate criminal conduct is seen as a mark of a responsible organisation. It’s one of the actions that will lead to you being invited to negotiate a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA), rather than face prosecution.

What is a DPA?

Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) are a negotiated settlement with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which a corporate can enter into after it has been charged with economic crime such as bribery, money laundering, or fraud.

It’s an agreement with the SFO that the corporate will comply with certain conditions, and (usually) pay a fine, in order to avoid a conviction.

The attraction of a DPA is that the corporate reduces the reputational risk associated with a conviction. There may also be a reduced fine attached to a DPA in comparison to the fine handed out at sentencing after a guilty plea in court.

Co-operate with the investigation

With genuine and ongoing co-operation, you can minimise the disruption to your business and reach a settlement sooner.

The SFO will give you clear timescales, and quicker responses if you’re seen to be co-operating. For example, the DPA negotiations should be concluded within six months of sending the invite.

Being co-operative includes:

• Preserving evidence such as digital or hard copy documents that might be relevant to the investigation. You should stop all routine document destruction processes.

• Identifying documents that may be relevant.

• Identifying anyone suspected of being involved in the criminal conduct.

Conduct an internal investigation

Another action that is particularly beneficial is to carry out your own internal investigation. This gives you the chance to uncover the facts yourself, and take a view on what you think has happened. That gives you the information you need to decide how to respond to the allegations.

It’s often helpful to have lawyers on side to help you do the investigation. We can help you carry out a thorough investigation, which impresses the SFO. The other benefit is that some documents that are created for the purpose of giving legal advice during the investigation will attract legal professional privilege. That means that you will not need to show these documents to the SFO and you won’t be penalised for that.

However, the SFO will be glad if you waive legal professional privilege as it can help to speed up their investigation. We can help you decide whether or not to waive privilege, as it’s a sensitive balance and should be considered individually in each case.

You will need to keep the SFO fully appraised of the ongoing investigation and let them know of any key findings. Again, this keeps you in good stead with the SFO and shows that you are co-operating. Your lawyers can take the burden of updating the SFO regularly.

How we can help

Investigations by the SFO can be stressful and they require careful navigation so that the business doesn’t aggravate the problem inadvertently. We can help you to remain on the right side of the SFO by co-operating fully and reporting any key findings that may come to light during an internal investigation.

Usually, the best outcome is a DPA, which is a negotiated settlement and avoids prosecution. We can negotiate more lenient terms of the DPA if your conduct throughout the investigation has been exemplary. We can guide you in how to do that, and reduce the disruption to your business.

0333 3448377 | info@harewoodlaw.com