On April 25, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) announced that it has opened a formal criminal investigation into London-listed ENRC, following allegations of fraud, bribery and corruption surrounding its assets in Kazakhstan and Africa.

The probe will come as no surprise to many as it follows recent claims by a whistleblower, which led to the suspension of a manager in Mozambique and the initiation of an internal investigation led by a law firm.  The SFO had already made a formal demand for documents from that law firm, meaning that they had reasonable grounds to suspect an offense involving serious or complex fraud or corruption.  Announcement.