Serious Fraud Office accused of bribing officials in Sierra Leone

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has been accused of bribing officials in Sierra Leone while carrying out its own investigation into bribery.

In filings to Southwark Crown Court, lawyers claimed the fraud squad hired an agent in Sierra Leone who bribed officials to obtain documents as part of its long-running investigation into London Mining. The SFO dropped its case earlier this year.

Lawyers claim the documents were intended for use as evidence as the SFO investigated three individuals from London Mining, who were themselves accused of bribing officials to win favourable treatment for the iron-ore mining company.

The court filings say: “The SFO engaged an agent (under the false guise of an expert witness) to carry out investigations in Sierra Leone on its behalf.

“The agent improperly paid Sierra Leone public officials to assist him with the SFO’s investigation, and to secure access to material held by them in connection with their official duties.”

The value of the alleged payments remains unclear. However, any such payments to public officials would breach the SFO’s own guidance for companies.

The SFO began investigating London Mining in 2016 because of claims it bribed officials between 2009 and 2014 while developing the Marampa iron ore mine in Sierra Leone.

The fraud squad charged David Hossie, London Mining’s former chief executive, and Rachel Rhodes, its former chief financial officer, with bribery in 2023. Ariel Armon, a consultant, was also charged with the same offence.

All three pleaded not guilty and the case was scheduled to be heard at a trial in April this year.

However, the SFO was forced to drop its charges in February when a software glitch was discovered that threatened to scupper any prosecutions.

It was feared the bug may have put the SFO in breach of stringent disclosure rules, which require investigators to hand over all relevant documents to defendants and their lawyers to ensure they have a fair trial.

Claims to be heard in June

The three individuals from the London Mining case are now seeking to recover millions of pounds in legal costs stemming from the failed investigation.

The allegations that the SFO had paid bribes to officials in Sierra Leone were made in an application for costs by Mr Armon. The claims will be heard at Southwark Crown Court on June 22.

A spokesman for the SFO said: “We dispute these claims which are made by former defendants seeking to obtain costs ahead of a hearing. These are live proceedings, but we are ready to contest the claims at a hearing in June.”

The collapse of the London Mining case was the latest in a series of blows to the SFO, which has suffered a string of embarrassing failures in recent years.

It is being sued for £125m by Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC), after its investigation into the Kazakh mining company collapsed in 2022. ENRC is also seeking to recover legal costs related to the SFO’s decade-long investigation.