The UK\u2019s Serious Fraud Office (<\/strong>SFO<\/strong><\/a>) enjoys a mixed reputation as far as other law enforcement agencies are concerned, in particular the police.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n American national and former deputy general counsel at the FBI, Lisa Osofsky, the head of the SFO<\/a>, has effectively admitted defeat over several of its investigations, which were started before her tenure at the SFO. Nobody wants to be accused of flogging a dead horse, but sometimes we simply need to admit a loss and move on. There is no point using precious resources to pursue no-hope investigations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On the one hand Ms. Osofsky should be commended for adopting a fresh and pragmatic approach. On the other hand, the SFO has once again opened itself up to ridicule, and to severe criticism by those suspects who have been living under the shadow of a prosecution that never materialized. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ms. Osofsky\u2019s observation, reported<\/strong><\/a> recently in the Financial Times,<\/em> that \u201cwe had some cases I could tell weren\u2019t going to go anywhere,\u201d says much about the organization that has been under her stewardship since August 2018. One shouldn\u2019t be too critical of her, as she has quite rightly given her team time to consolidate their investigations with a view to securing her approval to continue with them. That said, the SFO investigation teams, made up in part and overseen by lawyers, haven\u2019t exactly covered themselves in glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Indeed, one judge was particularly scathing of the SFO in response to its collapsed case<\/strong><\/a> against two former Tesco super-market chain executives. It is one thing to lose a case (we have all been there), but it is another to have our efforts and professionalism called into question by a Judge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n