Tony McClements comments on SFO head stepping down
Head of Investigations, Tony McClements, reacts to news that the Serious Fraud Office director, Nick Ephgrave, is stepping down.
News broke today that the director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in the UK, Nick Ephgrave, is stepping down halfway through his tenure.
Reacting to this news, our Head of Investigations, Tony McClements, said:
“As a former Fraud Squad detective, I worked with the SFO over the years and found them to be impressive and frustrating in equal measure.
“Sadly, under the previous leadership it became rudderless, and to my mind, a laughing stock.
“So much so, I implored that it be swallowed up by the National Crime Agency. The organisation ended up lacking any credibility.
“For many years I held the firm belief that the SFO would benefit from police leadership. This came to pass when Nick Ephgrave took the reins in 2023 and surrounded himself with former policing colleagues.
“For many years I held the firm belief that the SFO would benefit from police leadership.”
“He inherited some crazy cases, littered with schoolboy errors. Although there was some continued criticism of the SFO, in fairness the vast majority of this criticism was not of his making. And he has done his best to extricate the SFO from what was a mess.
“Under Ephgrave’s helmsmanship, things significantly improved.
“Sensible targeting and early (and meaningful) case assessments prevented cases disappearing down dead ends and prevented the kind of waste that littered the last decade.
“Thus, I hope that his replacement will be drawn from a policing background, to keep this positive momentum going.
“From one old detective to another, I wish Nick Ephgrave the best of luck in his future endeavours: I’m certain the private sector will be looking for someone of his ilk, and that he’ll enjoy his retirement from public service.”
