Judge Quashes SFO Order

The SFO has suffered a further to blow to its credibility after four banks won a court case blocking the watchdog’s attempts to seize documents linked to a derivatives probe in Italy.

Italian prosecutors are investigating JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank, UBS, and Depfa Bank over claims they did not tell the City of Milan what they were being charged for debt swaps between 2005 and 2007.

A request was submitted to the Home Secretary for documents, who then passed the request onto the SFO; however, Lord Justice Gross found that the watchdog had an “obvious lack of authority” to act on the request, and dismissed its decision on grounds of unreasonableness.

While the judge said he has a “considerable degree of sympathy” with its actions, the decision will hurt the SFO as it attempts to move on following its failed investigation into Vincent Tchenguiz.