Rolls-Royce: Serious Fraud Office drops corruption probe

No individual prosecutions are to be brought over long-standing corruption at Rolls-Royce, the Serious Fraud Office has announced.

The firm had already paid out a fine of almost £500m for crooked conduct spanning three decades, following an inquiry.

Fraud investigators said the decision to close the case followed a "detailed review" of the available evidence and an assessment of the public interest.

The move comes after Sky News City editor Mark Kleinman reported last month that the SFO had narrowed its investigation into the iconic engineering firm.

A separate long-running inquiry into the pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has also been dropped, with no prosecutions.

SFO director Lisa Osofsky said: "After an extensive and careful examination I have concluded that there is either insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction or it is not in the public interest to bring a prosecution in these cases.

"In the Rolls-Royce case, the SFO investigation led to the company taking responsibility for corrupt conduct spanning three decades, seven jurisdictions and three businesses, for which it paid a fine of £497.25m.

"I am thankful for the work of colleagues and the assistance of domestic and international partners."

Rolls-Royce said it would be not be commenting on the SFO decision, while GSK said it was "pleased".

Ms Osofsky, who took up the top job last September, has pledged to speed up the agency's investigations and review evidence in more than 70 cases to see why decisions were taking so long.

The SFO's inquiry into Rolls-Royce had already been under way for more than four years when it reached the plea deal with the company in 2017.

The agency entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the firm, leading to the biggest-ever UK fine for bribery and corruption.

Its misconduct took place across at least seven countries, including China, India, Nigeria and Russia.

The DPA was struck following a joint investigation with the US Department of Justice and authorities in Brazil.