SFO Agents Accused of Using Bribes in London Mining Investigation, Raising Serious Misconduct Questions

An expert engaged by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) — the UK's specialist agency for investigating and prosecuting serious and complex fraud, bribery, and corruption — has been accused of paying bribes to public officials in Sierra Leone to secure evidence for the SFO's prosecution of London Mining, the now-defunct UK-listed mining company. The allegation, reported by Law360, is one of the most serious categories of misconduct that can be directed at a law enforcement body: the use of the very unlawful conduct (bribery) that the SFO exists to prosecute. The SFO has faced recurring scrutiny over its operational methods, including prior controversies over the use of covert human intelligence sources and the handling of sensitive material in high-profile corporate cases. Allegations that agents deployed bribes in an investigative context would raise immediate questions about the admissibility of any evidence obtained through those methods, the integrity of any resulting prosecution, and the SFO's compliance with the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE), which govern the lawful conduct of covert investigations. The mining sector nexus points to a likely cross-border dimension — London is a major hub for the listing and financing of international mining companies, making the SFO a natural enforcement authority for corruption allegations involving UK-listed or UK-connected mining entities.