Police investigations into Independent Insurance's collapse have been delayed, as senior executives are called in for their third interviews with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).
The investigation i ...
Police investigations into Independent Insurance's collapse have been delayed, as senior executives are called in for their third interviews with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).
The investigation is now not expected to be complete for at least six months, despite initially being scheduled to finish this summer.
The SFO has set up an office in Independent's premises at Minster Court, now occupied by Independent's run-off company Aurora Corporate Services.
A source said that the SFO was conducting a "very considerable investigation" from the office.
A number of senior executives have been called in for full-day interviews over the coming weeks with the head of the SFO's Independent investigation, SFO accountants and lawyers.
It is understood some of the executives being interviewed are still employed by Aurora.
An SFO spokesman confirmed that the investigation, opened soon after Independent's collapse, "was not in a position to commence proceedings against any individual".
"We'd hoped to be in a position to establish whether there was any criminal activity by now, but we may have to wait a little longer," he said.
"Projects are always a hostage of fortune."
The spokesman confirmed that interviews were taking place.
"Certainly, after a year, it would be the time in an investigation where we'd be interviewing interesting people," he said.
The statement will come as a surprise to many former Independent staff, who believed the SFO's interest in Independent had tailed off.
The spokesman would not comment on sources' claims that the SFO had internal paperwork incriminating enough to bring charges against at least one of the insurers' directors and his deputy.
It is known that at least three directors voluntarily handed over company files at the beginning of the SFO's investigation.
