Serious Fraud Office set for 2026 move to Canary Wharf

The move to Cabot Square will realise modern offices that enhance the SFO’s operational capability and provide a better working environment for employees. The building is already a base for other Government organisations, including the Competition and Markets Authority and the Office of Rail and Road.

Funding for the office move was agreed in the Spending Review earlier this year, with the decision supporting the SFO’s commitment to a productive and agile state.

Graham McNulty, chief operating officer at the SFO, explained: “This move will be an investment in our future, providing accommodation that supports our unique operational needs as we continue the important work of tackling serious fraud, bribery and corruption.”

SFO employees are expected to begin moving into the property from late 2026 onwards.

Complex financial crime 

The SFO exists to fight complex financial crime, delivers justice for victims and protects the UK’s reputation as a safe place in whicb to do business.

The organisation is part of the UK’s criminal justice system covering England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but not Scotland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands.

The SFO takes on a small number of large economic crime cases. The director may investigate any suspected offence which appears to him on reasonable grounds to involve serious or complex fraud, bribery or corruption.

In considering whether to authorise an investigation, the director will take into account the actual or intended harm that may be caused to the public, the reputation and integrity of the UK as an international financial centre or the economy and prosperity of the UK.

Investigate and prosecute

The SFO pusues criminals for the financial benefit they’ve made from their crimes and assists overseas jurisdictions with their investigations into serious and complex fraud, bribery and corruption cases.

The organisation is unusual in the UK in that it both investigates and prosecutes its cases. The SFO was set up in this way because its cases are complicated and lawyers and investigators need to work together from the beginning.

The SFO was created and given its powers under the Criminal Justice Act 1987 and was established in 1988. It’s superintended by the Attorney General in accordance with the framework agreement which sets out the relationship between the Attorney and the Law Officers’ Departments.