Siobhain has been quoted by the news service Global Investigations Review regarding the criminal Forex investigation launched by the SFO on Monday. She comments:
“The SFO opening a criminal investigation now reduces the possibility of individuals in the UK being extradited to the US. If the US wanted to extradite someone from the UK in the Forex case, the SFO could now intervene. This is because the SFO will get precedence over the DoJ for individuals in the UK, assuming the SFO wants to bring a case.
“Any offer of immunity from the US authorities will not be recognised by UK authorities. The SFO has its own immunity procedure known as SOCPA, which doesn’t guarantee immunity but offers some form of protection to individuals who provide evidence. It would be inadvisable for anyone in the UK to enter into an immunity agreement with the DoJ unless extradition proceedings had already been launched.”
