16th Dec 2019 12:35
(Alliance News) - The UK Serious Fraud Office on Monday said it has charged two former Serco Group PLC directors in relation to the company's electronic monitoring contract with the UK Ministry of Justice.
The SFO has charged Nicholas Woods, former finance director of Serco Home Affairs, and Simon Marshall, former operations director of Field Services within Serco. The two have been charged with fraud and false accounting in relation to an investigation into Serco's electronic monitoring contract with the MoJ.
Woods has additionally been charged with false accounting in relation to the 2011 statutory accounts of Serco Geografix Ltd.
This follows the SFO's completion of a deferred prosecution agreement with Serco subsidiary Serco Geografix.
The SFO said the investigation remains active and it is unable to comment further.
Serco Geografix in July reached an agreement with the SFO to take responsibility for fraud and false advertising.
Under the deferred prosecution agreement, Serco Geografix paid a GBP19.2 million fine along with GBP3.7 million of the fraud office's investigation costs.
Serco Geografix took responsibility, under the proposed agreement, for three fraud offences and two false accounting offences between 2010 and 2013. These relate to the subsidiary's reporting to the MoJ concerning "the levels of profitability of Serco's electronic monitoring contract".
Shares in the outsourcer were up 4.4% at 164.50 pence in London on Monday.
By Lucy Heming; [email protected]
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