FOR the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the Regan acquittal could not come at a worse time. Following hard on the failure to win convictions in the Wickes prosecution, yesterday’s debacle threatens a return to the bad old days of a decade ago.
Created in 1988 to combine lawyers, specialist accountants and police under one roof, the SFO was quick to attract controversy. It was criticised for its Section 2 interview powers, under which suspects are compelled to answer questions on oath or risk a prison sentence.
Successive flops in fraud cases against Roger Levitt, George Walker, and, notably, the Maxwell brothers led to the SFO being dubbed “the Seriously Flawed Office”. Others called it “the Nightmare on Elm Street”, a reference to its address in Central London.
In recent years the SFO has done much to shake off its image as the bumbling Inspector Clouseau of agencies, and the Regan acquittal is a setback it could do without. Although it tends to win convictions in more than 70 per cent of cases, its successes usually go unnoticed. It is the big cases that tend to go disastrously wrong.
The Regan result is a irritation for Robert Wardle, who recently took over from Ros Wright as SFO director.
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The SFO insisted yesterday that it had been right to pursue Mr Regan. A spokesman said: “Andrew Regan’s acquittal is not a disaster for the SFO. The office should be judged on its overall record and not on one case.”