Introduction
The new director of the Serious Fraud Office (the “SFO”), Nick Ephgrave, set out a mission statement for increased dawn raid activity earlier this year, stating that the SFO has “already gone through more front doors in the last three months than in the last three years“. Similarly, (now former) Executive Director for Enforcement at the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”), Michael Grenfell, warned that “the days of the CMA having to refrain from dawn raids are over“. Nor is this trend limited to the SFO and CMA: HM Revenue & Customs (“HMRC”) undertook 36% more raids in 2023 than in 2022 and the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) conducted three times the number of raids in the first half of 2023 than in the entirety of 2022.
This increase in raids must, in part, be a response to the pause in raid activity caused by the pandemic. However, it can also be attributed to the political pressure on authorities to meet targets and demonstrate effective enforcement. In this environment, it is more important than ever that businesses do all they can to prepare. This article explains the circumstances in which authorities can conduct raids, the key areas of preparation for businesses, and our top tips for what to do in the event of a raid.
Which authorities have the power to conduct dawn raids?
Several authorities have statutory powers to conduct unannounced visits to investigate potential wrongdoing, known as “dawn raids”. Set out below is an overview of four key authorities which have such powers.
Top Tips: Preparation and key actions on the day
From a corporate governance perspective, it is imperative that businesses have procedures in place to ensure they understand the authorities’ powers and appropriately safeguard data. Some key areas to consider in this context are set out below.
