Gareth Davies, the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) of the National Audit Office, has reported on the 2020-21 accounts of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).
He has qualified his regularity audit opinion because the SFO incurred net expenditure of £3.55 million against the Resource Annually Managed Expenditure Limit, breaching the limit authorised by Parliament of £1 million by £2.55 million. This is because the SFO has provided for legal costs arising from a SFO prosecution. The SFO offered no evidence at the trial after a review of the disclosure process. The judge directed the jury to return verdicts of not guilty and directed the SFO to settle the legal costs incurred in respect of the trial.
Annual report and accounts
Audit certificate and report (pages 72-77)
