UK fraud watchdog settles case brought by ENRC for 'leaks' during investigation

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Serious Fraud Office has settled a lawsuit brought by Kazakh mining group ENRC, which accused the agency of leaking information about a corruption probe to journalists.

ENRC sued the SFO, the agency's former case controller for the ENRC probe and a former employee over alleged leaks during a decade-long criminal investigation into alleged bribery by the former FTSE 100 company. The SFO had denied the claims.

The SFO confirmed on Tuesday that the lawsuit at London's High Court had been settled, saying: "Throughout this case we robustly defended the claims. A confidential settlement has now been agreed."

An ENRC spokesperson said: "ENRC is pleased to report that a confidential settlement has been reached on the terms set out in the consent order."

Confidential settlements are common in such cases.

Campaign group Spotlight on Corruption said the fact the settlement was confidential was "deeply troubling given the public interest in scrutinising one of the SFO's longest-running and most controversial cases".

ENRC's case against the SFO over alleged leaks was just one of several pieces of litigation arising out of the SFO's investigation.

The SFO last year dropped without charges the probe it began in 2013 into alleged bribery by ENRC to secure mining contracts in the Democratic Republic of Congo between 2009 and 2012.

ENRC separately sued the SFO and its former lawyers, which led to the High Court ruling in December that ENRC was entitled to millions of pounds in damages.

The High Court found the SFO would not have launched the probe if the agency had not first induced ENRC's former lawyer to act against its interests. The SFO has also been refused permission to appeal against that ruling.

ENRC had provisionally suggested it was seeking nearly $1 billion for losses it said were caused by the probe, which will be the subject of another trial, in 2025 or early 2026.

The company said in court filings made public last month that it had "taken a conservative approach" and was seeking approximately $300 million. The SFO is fighting that case.

A spokesperson for ENRC's former lawyers Dechert said: "The firm was not a party to the claim and it would be inappropriate to comment."

(Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Hugh Lawson)