Judge only trial for drug cartel
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) may delay bringing criminal charges against drug company directors accused of rigging the prices of NHS drugs until next year.
The delay would allow the suspected cartelists to be tried under the new judge-only court procedure.
The SFO opened an investigation into generic drug manufacturers Goldshield Group, Generics UK, Kent Pharmaceuticals, Regent-GM Laboratories, Norton Healthcare and Ranbaxy UK almost four years ago and the police have since interviewed 16 executives.
Sources close to the companies say that the SFO has indicated charges may now be delayed until February.
The directors, who are on unconditional police bail, must attend interviews with the SFO on 6 December, but it is thought they will not actually be charged until next year.
It is not known whether the SFO intends to use the new judge-only procedure, but some of the directors involved fear it might.
A Department of Constitutional Affairs spokesman confirmed that the judge-only trials mechanism could be in place by January or February.
The government is planning to do away with jury trials in complex serious fraud cases by statutory instrument. The change requires a yes vote in the Commons and the Lords.
A spokesperson for the Law Society, which opposes judge-only trials, said that suspects could be prosecuted under the new procedure as long as they have not been charged before it is put in place.
The government has been keen to replace jury trials since the collapse of the Jubilee Line fraud case earlier this year. The SFO refused to comment on the case as it is the subject of an ongoing inquiry.