The Serious Fraud Office has picked a former Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner as its next director.
Attorney General Victoria Prentis announced Nick Ephgrave as the department’s new director this week.
He will take up the post at the end of September for an initial term of five years, replacing outgoing director Lisa Osofsky.
Prentis said: “I am delighted to announce that Nick Ephgrave will become the next director of the SFO. Nick’s years of experience as a leader in law enforcement and across the wider criminal justice system make him the ideal candidate to drive the SFO forward in its continuing fight against economic crime.”
She also thanked Lisa Osofsky for her five years’ of service as director of the SFO.
Ephgrave said he was “honoured” to be the next director of the SFO.
“The SFO plays a unique and pivotal role in the UK’s response to economic crime. I look forward to building on its recent successes and driving forward work to deliver long-lasting improvements to its operations,” he added.
Ephgrave was assistant commissioner of the Met between February 2019 and September 2022.
Most recently, he was chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council Criminal Justice Co-ordination Committee and held roles on the Criminal Procedure Rules Committee and the Sentencing Council.
Ephgrave was selected for the role following an open and transparent competition, a joint press release by the SFO and Attorney General’s Office said.
The SFO, a non-ministerial department headed by the director, is a specialist investigating and prosecuting authority that tackles the top level of serious or complex fraud, bribery, and corruption in England and Wales, and Northern Ireland.
It is an operationally independent prosecuting body, responsible for making decisions on whether an investigation should be opened and ultimately if a case should be prosecuted.