The Serious Fraud Office has been criticized for squandering millions of pounds of taxpayer money over a decade, while the lives of defendants who were cleared after no evidence was presented have been “ravaged.”
Following a 10-year investigation, charges have been dismissed against three former executives of G4S’s electronic tagging division who were accused of defrauding the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).
From 2005 to 2013, G4S Care and Justice Services provided the government with electronic monitoring services.
The subsidiary of security giant G4S was accused of lying to the Ministry of Justice about its tagging contract profits.
In 2020, the firm admitted to three counts of fraud and paid £38.5m in fines and £5.9m in SFO costs.
G4S may continue to be deemed a government supplier under the deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the SFO.
The DPA only applied to G4S Care and Justice Services’ potential criminal liability, not its workers.
Seven counts of fraud were brought against former managing director Richard Morris, 47, of Buckinghamshire, former commercial director Mark Preston, 51, of Cheshire, and former finance manager James Jardine, 41, of Cumbria.
The SFO alleged that between 2009 and 2012, the executives made fraudulent statements to the Ministry of Justice.
Crispin Aylett KC, the prosecutor in the case that was scheduled to go to trial in April of next year, did not present any evidence at an Old Bailey hearing before Mr. Justice Johnson on Friday.
Mr. Aylett stated, “The decision to drop this case could neither be made swiftly nor lightly.”
Following a “careful and comprehensive assessment,” it was determined that a trial was “no longer in the public interest.”
He acknowledged the impact of the case on the good-natured defendants, adding, “We lament how the case turned out.”
Mr. Aylett stated, “The defendants have been suspected for ten years, and the prosecution is well cognizant of the impact the proceedings will have had on them and their families.”
“We recognized the potential injustice of requesting that this continue for an extended period.”
The judge dismissed the accusations against the defendants.
After being exonerated of fraud allegations, Mr. Morris stated. “I am overjoyed that this matter has finally come to an end”.
“The allegations against me were false from the beginning”.
It is scandalous that it took the SFO 10 years to admit as much.
“I appreciate the support of my family, friends, and colleagues. Also I would like to credit my legal team for their tireless efforts to uncover the truth and debunk the SFO’s flawed case”.
I was stunned to learn that G4S had signed a Deferred Prosecution Agreement falsely accusing me of wrongdoing.
“G4S signed a fraudulent confession, pure and simple.
“The outcome of this case demonstrates that G4S’s decision to engage in a DPA was unfair and misguided.
It was incomprehensible that the SFO accepted the DPA’s false story and prosecuted me without investigating the proof.
I am delighted to have been vindicated, but no one should have to endure such a trial.
“I fear they will if the DPA regime and the SFO remain unchanged.”
Mr. Jardine’s attorney, Joanna Dimmock, stated, “After ten years of delay, mismanagement, and misinterpretation of the evidence, the SFO has finally acknowledged that this case should never have been presented.
“In 2021, the SFO was aware of foundational errors that compromised the safety of Mr. Jardine’s case. What followed has been a litany of disclosure calamities and breaches by the SFO of over 60 court orders.
“Once again, the Serious Fraud Office has squandered millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money. While three men’s lives have been ruined and placed on hold for nearly a decade.
Mr. Jardine is relieved that he can finally leave the injustice of the past nine years behind him and begin to rebuild his future with his family.
