Interesting news from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) this week, with the announcement that it has begun an investigation into whether clients of rogue private investigators may have breached the Data Protection Act. The move follows the ICO’s receipt of information from the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA).

According to the ICO, it has received details of around 100 corporate and individual clients whom SOCA has identified as part of its own inquiry into private investigators and the ‘blagging’ of personal information.

That investigation, Operation Millipede, saw four men convicted of fraud offences in 2012, after SOCA found they had obtained information illegally.

The ICO has announced that it will now assess the SOCA material, as well as writing in due course to all the individuals and organisations listed, to establish what information the private investigators provided, and whether the clients were aware that the law might have been broken to obtain that information.

It is thought that the investigation will take several months. If the ICO then believes that further action is required, it has a number of options, including:

• Criminal prosecution, for unlawfully obtaining or accessing personal data (known as a ‘section 55’ offence) or for failing to notify as a data controller;
• Civil action for breaching the Data Protection Act, with monetary penalties of up to £500,000; and
• Enforcement notices and undertakings, to oblige changes in policies or procedures.

Contact Lewis Nedas’ Criminal Lawyers in London

If you are concerned that your organisation or any of its employees may have breached Data Protection legislation and you require specialist criminal defence advice, please contact our solicitors Jeffrey Lewis or Siobhain Egan on 020 7387 2032 or complete our online enquiry form here.

This blog post is intended as a news item only – no connection between Lewis Nedas and the parties concerned is intended or implied.