SFO drops former AIM London Mining bribery case after decade-long probe
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) officially dropped all charges against the former executives of London Mining, a decade after launching its probe into alleged bribery and corruption.
The SFO launched an investigation in 2016 into London Mining Plc regarding alleged bribery to secure favourable treatment in Sierra Leone between 2009 and 2014.
Former CEO Graeme Hossie, CFO Rachel Rhodes, and consultant Ariel Armon were charged with corruption, with a trial scheduled for April 2026.
The steel mining company suspended trading on AIM and entered administration in 2014.
Hossie and Rhodes were charged by the SFO with two counts of corruption, one between 2009 and 2012 and the other between 2010 and 2014. Armon was charged with one count of corruption between 2010 and 2014. All three pleaded not guilty in July 2023 at Southwark Crown Court.
‘No realistic prospect of conviction’
The trial was set for 7 April 2026, but “following a thorough review”, the SFO concluded that the evidence in this prosecution no longer satisfies the ‘full code test in that there is no realistic prospect of conviction.
A combination of factors, including significant delays to trial, difficulties obtaining and reviewing material and challenges with witness evidence, resulted in the SFO no longer satisfying the code.
The SFO informed Southwark Crown Court last Friday that it was no longer proceeding with this prosecution. It also updated its online case file on Thursday by marking the case as closed.
A spokesperson for the SFO said: “”This decision reflects our commitment to making pragmatic judgements about where to focus our resources and we will reallocate our people to other fraud, bribery and corruption cases where we can deliver meaningful outcomes for victims and the public.”
Commenting on the decision, Armon said: “In a subversion of one of the most important principles of the English legal system, I feel that for the past ten years the SFO has treated me as guilty until proven otherwise.
“The past decade has been a living nightmare which has caused me irreparable financial, professional, and psychological harm…. My ten-year ordeal, which resulted in an acquittal without even having to put forward a defence, represents millions of pounds of wasted taxpayer money.”
Just last month, Nick Ephgrave, in a surprising announcement, revealed he was stepping down as director of the SFO two and a half years before his first term was due to finish.
Legal reactions
Emma Shafton, counsel at Reed Smith, stated, “The SFO has confirmed that it is reviewing approximately 20 cases to assess whether similar technical failures in its legacy document management systems have compromised other prosecutions, following earlier cases collapsing due to comparable disclosure failings.”
“The implications extend beyond the individual defendants. Witnesses, complainants, and victims engage with SFO investigations in the expectation that matters will be brought to a proper conclusion.
Chris Roberts, partner at Grosvenor Law, added: “The SFO’s announcement today shows the legacy problems that Ephgrave had hoped had been resolved will continue to burden the agency.”
“The next director will have to succeed Ephgrave, knowing they may well be held responsible for failings from long before their appointment was even contemplated,” he added.