The director of the Serious Fraud Office, Nick Ephgrave, has announced he will retire later this year.
Ephgrave, who joined the SFO in September 2023, said he will remain in post until the end of March, with an interim director to be appointed while a formal recruitment process for his successor takes place. He had initially joined on a five-year term but will depart at the halfway point.
His retirement comes after 38 years serving the public, holding senior roles in UK law enforcement, including assistant commissioner at the Metropolitan Police.
Ephgrave said: “It is with great pride that I reflect on the enormous progress the SFO has made in the last two and a half years. We have achieved more things, more quickly than even I thought possible thanks entirely to the enthusiasm, commitment and can-do attitude from everyone at the SFO.
“I am certain that the momentum we have created will continue to propel the organisation forward to bigger and better things.
“I would like to thank each and every colleague for their support and hard work, without which none of this could have happened.”
He added: “I shall miss the job and SFO colleagues so very much but will reflect on the progress we have made together with pride and satisfaction.
“I believe we have achieved what we set out to do: create a rejuvenated SFO that is strong, confident, dynamic and pragmatic. It has an even greater future ahead.”
The SFO, a non-ministerial department headed by the director, is a specialist investigating and prosecuting authority that tackles the top level of serious or complex fraud, bribery, and corruption in England and Wales, and Northern Ireland.
It is an operationally independent prosecuting body, responsible for making decisions on whether an investigation should be opened and ultimately if a case should be prosecuted.
Taking charge of the department in 2023, Ephgrave set out to redefine the ambition and scope of the organisation, focusing on proactivity, innovation and pace.
The SFO said he has overseen “a sharper, faster casework approach, the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in support of improved disclosure practice and the creation of a crypto-asset capability”.
The department said successes during his tenure include bringing charges against five men for complex fraud offences linked to the collapse of law firm Axiom Ince in just 15 months, the fastest in the organisation’s history.
It also noted the founding of the first international Anti-Corruption Prosecutorial Taskforce, delivering an enhanced operational partnership between key European partners.
The SFO said Ephgrave has also “championed the incentivisation of whistleblowers to drive up referral rates and increase corporate prosecutions”.
Attorney general Richard Hermer KC said Ephgrave brought over three decades of police experience to the SFO and, as director “modernised the organisation’s approach to tackling serious fraud, bribery and corruption, strengthened its capabilities, and secured important convictions in complex economic crime cases”.
“His energy, expertise, integrity, determination and commitment to public service have left a lasting mark on the SFO and on the police forces in which he served,” Hermer said. “I thank him for his dedication, pay tribute to his family for their support and wish him all the very best for his well-deserved retirement.”
Claire Bassett, chair of the SFO’s board, added: “Nick has led the SFO with tremendous energy and vision over the last two and a half years, transforming its approach to tackling complex crime.
“His legacy is a reinvigorated organisation which is well placed to build on swifter and more effective approaches to delivering justice.”