Lisa Osofsky to step down as SFO director in August 2023
Lisa Osofsky is set to leave her position as director of the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in August 2023 after completing a five-year stint at the fraud investigation agency.
Osofsky told staff she will serve her full tenure before leaving the agency, according to an internal message sent out by the SFO chief.
In a message seen by Morning Wire, Osofsky said she had “spoken with the Attorney General and we have agreed that I will serve my tenure in full, until 28 August 2023.”
The SFO director added that she had agreed with the UK’s Attorney General, Victoria Prentis, that she would be willing to remain in her position “for a short period beyond August if this is required, to ensure there are no gaps” in the SFO’s leadership if no other candidate is hired.
She told staff the “process to recruit my successor will begin shortly, led by the Attorney General’s Office as our ministerial sponsor”.
The internal message comes after Osofsky agreed to a standard five-year contact on taking up the top position at the SFO in 2018.
Osofsky joined the SFO in August 2018 after starting her career as a US federal prosecutor before joining the FBI as a deputy general counsel.
The dual British-American citizen later spent seven years at Goldman Sachs before taking up a senior position at risk consultancy Exiger.
During her tenure at the SFO, Osofsky has secured 25 successful convictions leading to the confiscation of £155m.
The SFO’s recent prosecution of Glencore resulted in the firm being handed the largest financial penalty ever given to a company in a UK criminal case.
The message to staff comes after UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman launched an investigation into the collapse of the SFO’s bribery case against Monaco based energy consultancy Unaoil, which resulted in the overturning of two convictions.
Osofsky has faced criticism over her handling of the case, which in October saw her apologise for her decision to meet with a US agent after a judge ruled the meeting to have been “wholly inappropriate”.