SFO receives more than 100 calls a month through corruption-reporting hotline

The SFO received 350 calls through its 'SFO Confidential' system between the beginning of January and the end of March according to information obtained through a freedom of information request by Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com. The SFO was also informed of potential corruption on a further 288 occasions via email or post during the same period.

The SFO has still to initiate a full investigation on the basis of any information it has received through the new service, according to Pinsent Masons, however an anti-corruption law expert with the firm, Tom Stocker, said that it was highly likely that one would be commenced as a result of information obtained from whistleblowers.

"There is clearly an increased propensity for people and companies to report matters directly to the Serious Fraud Office, as well as the National Fraud Reporting Centre and the Serious Organised Crime Agency," Stocker said. "Investigations will almost-certainly follow from these tip offs."

"There is no doubt that businesses and people involved in bribery and fraud are at an increased risk of being caught as a result of the hotline," he added.

The SFO is an independent Government department that investigates and prosecutes serious or complex fraud and corruption. In November last year it set up SFO Confidential, which it said would enable workers to report concerns about bribery and corruption anonymously.

Stocker said, though, that limited resources may prevent the SFO following up on any but the most serious of cases reported to it. The SFO's budget reduced from £53.3 million in 2008/9 to £35.9 million in 2010/11.

"The SFO has a difficult job to do," he said. "At one point the former Director set the SFO a target of prosecuting 100 cases a year, yet it's receiving over 100 complaints a month at a time when its budget is being slashed. The SFO's ambitions may not, unfortunately, be matched by its resources."

"With that volume of complaints coming in, the SFO has a huge job on its hands to separate the wheat from the chaff. A proportion of the tip offs will be malicious or without foundation, and sifting through those takes time and resource. Considering the volume of tip offs, investigations will inevitably follow."

"It will be interesting to see how the new Director [David Green] prioritises the SFO's resources in the months ahead. It is likely that many cases will be referred to local police forces and other law enforcement agencies, and we can expect the SFO to go after the most serious and complex cases," Stocker said.

The SFO could also consider working more with international enforcement agencies on cross-border matters, Stocker said. Some agencies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission in the US, sometimes offer whistleblowers a percentage of any financial penalties they impose on companies that have engaged in fraudulent activity.

"Corporations need to understand that competitors will not have qualms about reporting others to the authorities if they think it will produce a competitive advantage," Stocker said. "The risk of corporate wrongdoing being uncovered is only going upwards."

The SFO has previously encouraged businesses to self-report bribery uncovered in their organisations in return for more lenient punishment.