London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Jul 13, 2025

UK fraud office launches review after judge says director fell for flattery

UK fraud office launches review after judge says director fell for flattery

The UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said on Monday it would launch a review after its head was rebuked by a London judge for being vulnerable to flattery from a freelance agent during a high-profile bribery investigation into oil consultancy Unaoil.
Judge Martin Beddoe said SFO head Lisa Osofsky and senior colleagues had “taken the bait” when an American agent acting for the prominent Ahsani family, which ran Unaoil, had promised to secure guilty pleas in the British investigation into other Unaoil managers.

The SFO should have had “nothing to do” with David Tinsley, who was not the lawyer of a defendant, or employed by a U.S. government agency, but was a “freelance agent who was patently acting only in the interests of the Ahsanis”, he said.

“DT (David Tinsley) was not hesitant in flattering Ms Osofsky and talking up her talents, and unfortunately Ms Osofsky made herself vulnerable to them,” Beddoe said.

The SFO said it accepted the criticisms and that a review was in hand, but stressed that the judge had found no evidence of bad faith or unlawful behaviour.

“A review will be conducted into this matter, and a protocol covering contact with non-legal representatives has been put in place,” it added.

The judgment was made public on Monday after reporting restrictions were lifted on the convictions of two former Unaoil managers, Ziad Akle and Stephen Whiteley, after a London trial.

Tinsley established contact with Osofsky and other senior SFO staff around September 2018, saying he wanted to mend a frayed relationship between the SFO and FBI and “build something great”, according to the judgment, after a bruising court battle in Italy in 2018 over who would prosecute Saman Ahsani.

Saman, Unaoil’s former chief operating officer, and his brother Cyrus, the company’s former chief executive, pleaded guilty in the United States last year.

On Feb. 4, 2019, Tinsley sent an article to Osofsky, a dual national British American and former FBI lawyer, with the message “mercy means valuing relationships over rules”. Osofsky responded that the message was “inspiring”, according to the judgment.

Beddoe said he was not sure what the expression meant and cautioned that he had not seen the full communications.

“...but if it is an invitation or excuse not to apply the rule of law before the application of mercy, I doubt that it has proper application to the work of the SFO,” he said.

Tinsley, a retired U.S. drug enforcement (DEA) supervisory special agent who founded Miami-based investigative company 5 Stones Intelligences, said his comments had been taken out of context by Akle’s lawyers.

They had been designed to show how moved he had been by Osofsky’s “extraordinary kindness” to an SFO officer facing a challenging personal period, he said, adding that to suggest otherwise was “shameless”.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
×