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Serious Fraud Office
SFO says it is 'normal practice' for a firm conductiong intrnal investigation to keep the fraud office informed.
SFO says it is 'normal practice' for a firm conductiong intrnal investigation to keep the fraud office informed.

SFO looks into Kazakh miner ENRC

This article is more than 12 years old
ENRC's has called in lawyers to look into claims that money went missing from SSGPO, its offshoot in Kazakhstan

The Serious Fraud Office is gathering intelligence on allegations of fraud at ENRC, the controversial Kazakh mining group listed on the London Stock Exchange, and has asked the company to hand over details of an ongoing internal investigation.

The copper mining group's audit committee, chaired by Swiss private banker Gerhard Ammann, has called in lawyers to help look into claims that money went missing from SSGPO, a division of ENRC in Kazakhstan. On Sunday night an ENRC spokeswoman said it was "entirely normal practice" for a business conducting an internal investigation to be involved in "liaison with appropriate regulators, including the SFO".

The SFO is not a regulator. Its role is to investigate and prosecute serious and complex frauds, taking on cases that tend to involve sums of more than £1m. From July, it also took on responsibility for prosecutions under the new Bribery Act.

Director Richard Alderman has encouraged firms to self-report where they are concerned about whistleblower's allegations. It is thought discussions with ENRC may be of this nature.

In June concerns were raised about corporate governance standards at ENRC when two non-executive directors, former GlaxoSmithkline chairman Sir Richard Sykes and banker Ken Olisa, were removed from the board. Shortly afterwards Felix Vulis, who had stepped down as chief executive four months earlier, was reinstated. Olisa later described his impression of the company as "more Soviet than City".

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