Richard Alderman, the director of the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office, steps down today after a four- year term in which ambitious reforms to combat bribery were hampered by a dwindling budget and a depleted staff. Alderman has championed a system of negotiating corruption settlements with companies rather than prosecutions since joining the SFO as director in 2008. He was criticized for taking on several high-profile investigations, including American International Group Inc.’s Financial Products unit and convicted swindler Bernard Madoff’s London operations, only to close them later citing a lack of evidence. More on Bloomberg here.
