The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) – a British Company which investigates companies for corruption – has arrived in Iceland, with the task of taking a closer look at the banks.
Vísir reports that the three-man team has been coming through documents since Monday. Polly Sprenger, a member of the group, told reporters in part, “We’ve actually done many weeks’ worth of work in the three days that we’ve spent in this country.”
Sprenger added that she is hopeful that evidence will present itself that will prompt a formal investigation into the banking system. The group has actually been doing research on the Icelandic banking system since the spring, and are now focussing their efforts on one bank in particular, the identity of which Sprenger would not reveal.
On their website, SFO describes their mission as “to protect society from extensive, deliberate criminal deception which could threaten public confidence in the financial system. We investigate fraud and corruption that requires our investigative expertise and special powers to obtain and assess evidence to successfully prosecute fraudsters, freeze assets and compensate victims.” They have thus far managed to recover 6 billion GBP in losses from companies and individuals who used corrupt business practices.