Nick Ephgrave QPM, the Director of the Serious Fraud Office
(SFO), will retire at the end of March.
The decision comes after 38 years serving the
public, holding senior roles in UK law
enforcement, with the Metropolitan and
Surrey police forces as well as the National
Police Chiefs' Council.
He will remain in post until the end of March during
which time an interim Director will be
appointed pending a formal recruitment process for his
successor.
Nick Ephgrave said:
It is with great pride that I reflect on the enormous
progress the SFO has made in the last two and a half years.
We have achieved more things, more quickly than even I
thought possible thanks entirely to the
enthusiasm, commitment and can-do attitude
from everyone at the SFO.
I am certain that the momentum we have created will continue to
propel the organisation forward to bigger and
better things.
I would like to thank each and every colleague for their support
and hard work, without which none of this could
have happened.
Mr Ephgrave set out to redefine the ambition and scope of
the SFO, overseeing a focus
on proactivity, innovation and pace. This
has included a sharper, faster
casework approach, the use of artificial intelligence
and machine learning in support of improved
disclosure practice and the creation of a
crypto-asset capability.
Successes during his tenure include
bringing charges against five men for complex fraud offences
linked to the collapse of law firm Axiom Ince in just 15 months,
the fastest in the organisation's history.
Last month, a guilty plea was
secured from the director of a company that
sold aircraft engine parts with forged
documentation just two years after launching an
investigation.
In addition, the SFO continues to be a leading partner
in global anti-corruption work. Of particular
significance is the founding of the first
international Anti-Corruption Prosecutorial Taskforce,
delivering an enhanced operational partnership between
key European partners.
From the outset, Mr Ephgrave has championed
the incentivisation of whistleblowers
to drive up referral rates and increase corporate
prosecutions. In
recent weeks the Government committed to
assessing the feasibility of financial incentive schemes
for those reporting economic crime as part of its
new UK Anti-Corruption Strategy.
Nick Ephgrave added:
I shall miss the job and SFO colleagues so very much but will
reflect on the progress we have made together with pride and
satisfaction.
I believe we have achieved what we set out to do: create a
rejuvenated SFO that is strong, confident, dynamic and
pragmatic. It has an even greater future ahead.
Attorney General KC said:
I want to pay the warmest of personal and
professional tributes to Nick Ephgrave as he retires
after a long career in public service.
Nick brought over three decades of police experience to
the Serious Fraud Office and as Director,
he modernised the organisation's approach to
tackling serious fraud, bribery and corruption, strengthened its
capabilities, and secured important convictions in complex
economic crime cases.
His energy, expertise, integrity, determination and
commitment to public service have left a lasting
mark on the SFO and on the police forces in which he served.
I thank him for his dedication, pay tribute to
his family for their support and wish him all
the very best for
his well-deserved retirement.
Claire Bassett, Chair of the Board, said:
Nick has led the SFO with tremendous energy and vision over the
last two and a half years, transforming its approach to tackling
complex crime.
His legacy is a reinvigorated organisation which is
well placed to build on swifter and more effective approaches to
delivering justice.
