I like the reinvigorated pace that the new Director of the SFO has set. While it is still early days, it seems to be a sustained effort - new investigations have kicked off with dawn raids in November, December and February, as well as a cluster of new charges, convictions, a confiscation and a recovery. Some observers have commented along the lines of “give it a couple of months and things will die down”, but I am not sure I agree. The quote below comes from the Director's recent speech at RUSI, and I think it indicates a mentality that will drive increasing levels of activity over his tenure. 

Momentum can grow quickly. He is already delivering close collaboration with other prosecution agencies and is seeking to get on top of technology to help solve the SFO's significant eDiscovery and disclosure needs. He has stated “I want to be the first to prosecute someone under the new provisions of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act” and that “there are great new tools, let’s be bold about using those".  Even more ambitiously, he is looking to challenge the status quo - notably, he thinks the SFO should pay whistleblowers and make better use of ‘assisting offenders’ legislation to prosecute cases more quickly.  

Time will tell, but I am optimistic. 

PS - perhaps another reason I like the new Director's stance is his reference to forensic accounting skills as part of the SFO's capabilities….