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U.K. SFO Told Soma No Evidence of Crime Found in Bribe Probe

Soma lost August court bid to make SFO end its bribery probe
Ruling shows SFO said no ‘realistic prospect of conviction’

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October 12, 2016, 10:22 AM UTCUpdated onOctober 12, 2016, 2:41 PM UTC

The U.K. Serious Fraud Office told Soma Oil & Gas Holdings Ltd. in August it had found "insufficient evidence of criminality" in its probe of possible illegal payments to Somali officials, according to a letter cited in a London court judgment.

The letter from the SFO was referenced in a ruling handed down Wednesday after Soma asked a court to force the agency to end its bribery investigation into the company. The application was refused at a hearing in August. The letter was one of the main reasons Soma said the prosecutor should be made to end the probe.