Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, how many tip-offs were made to the Serious Fraud Office tip-off line in 2016; how many reports from that tip-off line were passed on to other investigatory bodies and prosecuting authorities; and how many such reports were deemed to contain enough information to justify opening an investigation.

The SFO does not have a dedicated telephone tip-off line. Allegations of criminality are referred to the SFO by a variety of sources, including corporate self-referrals, other law enforcement or regulatory agencies both within the UK and overseas, non-governmental agencies as well as by members of the public. The largest number of referrals are submitted through the secure online reporting tool accessed by the SFO website. The online reporting tool was updated in February 2016. This has led to a decrease in overall direct referrals as users are provided with more information to report allegations that fall outside the SFO's statutory remit to a more appropriate agency. Everyone making referrals to the SFO via the website are routinely advised to report their allegations directly to Action Fraud, the UK's national fraud reporting centre.

In 2016 there were a recorded 1552 reports made through the SFO reporting tool. The SFO central records indicate that 80 of these reports were referred by the SFO to other investigative bodies for consideration although this may not capture every instance of a referral being made to another agency by the SFO.

The number of SFO investigations opened during 2016 which originated through the online reporting system during this period was 4.