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No wires please, we’re British – why City bankers don’t rat out financial crime

There is a fundamental reason why what works on Wall Street would fall flat in the City: the size of the carrot and the size of the stick

No wires please, we’re British – why City bankers don’t rat out financial crime
Photo: Getty Images

The director of the Serious Fraud Office, Lisa Osofsky, has caused consternation among lawyers with her recent call encouraging white-collar criminals to turn informant.

The approach, summed up in her words as “you can spend 20 years in jail for what you did or wear a wire and work with us”, would bring US-style tactics to the fight against financial crime in the UK.

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