The government body is to be handed a significant cash injection to help support additional staff, as well as enabling investments in core IT systems and new artificial intelligence tools
The Serious Fraud Office has been given a multimillion-pound funding boost to invest in new technology platforms and staff.
According to the non-ministerial department – which is responsible for investigating complex fraud cases, bribery and corruption – some of the extra cash will pay for improvements to the organisation’s case-management system. The funding will also “expand and accelerate” the use of technology to assist disclosure – including through the increased use of artificial intelligence, the SFO said.
Director Nick Ephgrave said the funding was part of the wider £1.1bn settlement for the Law Officers Departments in 2025-26 that was set out in last month’s Autumn Budget.
“This investment will strengthen our capacity to recover criminal assets, manage our cases, and help us further explore machine learning technology to tackle the huge disclosure exercises on our cases,” he said.
Related content
- Serious Fraud Office seeks UK player for £10m ‘future-proof’ software system
- Government expects anti-fraud data unit to deliver ‘significant’ financial results
- Government metrology unit issues warning after fraudsters target scores of IT suppliers
Dr Susan Hawley, executive director of campaign group Spotlight on Corruption, said the additional funding for the SFO was a “welcome affirmation” of the critical role the organisation plays in tackling complex cases of corporate fraud, bribery and corruption.
The £1.1bn resouce budget allocated to the Law Officers Departments in the Autumn Budget is equivalent to a real-terms growth rate of 7.5% between 2023-24 and 2025-26, according to HM Treasury’s Red Book.
In addition to the £9.3m uplift for the SFO, it included an additional £80m to help with pay, inflation and demand pressures across all Law Officers Departments – which also include the Crown Prosecution Service and the Government Legal Department.
According to its most recent annual report and accounts, the SFO had an average of 474 permanent staff during 2023-24, as well as 29 staff on fixed-term appointments and 104 agency staff.
