评论
打印
The UK Treasury has given extra funding to the Serious Fraud Office to bolster its criminal investigation into alleged bribery by Rolls-Royce in Indonesia and China.
英国财政部(UK Treasury)向英国严重欺诈办公室（Serious Fraud Office，简称SFO）提供了额外的资金，以支持后者对罗尔斯•罗伊斯（Rolls-Royce，简称“罗罗”）涉嫌在印尼和中国行贿一案展开刑事调查。
The rare move, only the third such agreement in recent times, underscores both the probe’s scope and the pressure on the cash-strapped SFO to land a sizeable British scalp for overseas corruption. The Treasury has agreed to so-called blockbuster funding “in the low millions” of pounds for the SFO’s probe, according to people familiar with the arrangement.
近年来，英国财政部仅采取过两次类似行动。这一罕见之举不仅凸显出该调查的规模之巨大，也凸显出资金紧张的SFO面临的压力之大——该机构必须在抗击海外腐败方面取得重大胜利。知情人士称，英国财政部已同意提供300万英镑左右的所谓重大融资，以支持SFO的调查。
It follows similar deals struck by the SFO for its investigations into alleged Libor rigging, and into Barclays’ deals with Qatar during the bank’s 2008 emergency cash call.
SFO此前就两起案件的调查与英国财政部达成过类似的协议，一起案件是多家银行涉嫌操纵伦敦银行间同业拆借利率(Libor)，另一起是巴克莱(Barclays)涉嫌在2008年现金告急期间与卡塔尔控股进行虚假交易。
The SFO last year managed to strike a deal whereby the agency – whose funding has been eroded from £52m in 2008 to £32m this fiscal year – could approach the Treasury for special funding if a probe was forecast to cost more than 5 per cent of the agency’s annual budget.
SFO去年与英国财政部达成了一项协议，约定如果预计一项调查的成本将超过SFO年度预算的5%，SFO就可以向英国财政部要求特别资助。SFO本财年的预算已被削减至3200万英镑，而2008年的这个数字为5200万英镑。
Blockbuster funding is controversial, however, because of the government approval required.
但这种“重大融资”安排存在争议，因为它需要政府批准。
“Every time the director of the SFO wants to investigate a major case he has to go to George Osborne in secret with a begging bowl,” said Emily Thornberry, shadow attorney-general in the opposition Labour party, labelling the system “dysfunctional”.
英国反对党工党(Labour party)内的影子总检察长埃米莉•索恩伯里(Emily Thornberry)表示：“SFO主任每希望调查一个重大案件，就得私下里去找乔治•奥斯本(George Osborne)讨钱。”索恩伯里称，这个体系是一个“失灵”的体系。
The secret funding could explain why the SFO made the surprise announcement before Christmas that it was accelerating its interest in Rolls-Royce to an official criminal probe. It had been previously satisfied with the company’s internal reports into alleged bribes through intermediaries in Asia, which were sparked by allegations made by a former employee.
这种秘密融资安排可以解释为何SFO在圣诞节之前突然宣布，它打算将罗罗一案的调查正式升级为刑事调查。在那之前，SFO一直满足于让该公司拿出内部调查报告。该调查的起因是，罗罗的一名前雇员指控称，该公司在亚洲通过一些中介行贿。
According to one widely-reported claim, in the early 1990s the aircraft-engine maker gave Tommy Suharto, son of Indonesia’s ex-president, a blue Rolls-Royce car and $20m in the hope they would help prompt Garuda, the country’s airline, to buy its Trent 700 engine.
根据一项被广泛报道的指控，这家飞机发动机制造商在上世纪90年代初送了一辆蓝色的劳斯莱斯(Rolls-Royce)汽车和2000万元美金，给印尼前总统之子汤米•苏哈托(Tommy Suharto)，希望他能帮忙让印尼鹰航(Garuda)购买自己的Trent 700发动机。
Mr Suharto wrote to the SFO in November to deny categorically all wrongdoing, adding that the accusations were false.
苏哈托去年11月致函SFO，断然否认一切指控，并称这些指控系捏造。
Another prompt could be the involvement of US authorities. The Department of Justice sent another request for information to Rolls-Royce last month, according to people familiar with the investigation.
另一个推动因素可能是美国当局的介入。根据此次调查知情人士的说法，美国司法部(DoJ)也向罗罗发出了获取信息的要求。
Allegations of bribery in both China and Indonesia are being scrutinised by both the SFO and DoJ, the people said.
这名知情人士表示，SFO和美国司法部都在仔细调查关于罗罗在中国和印尼行贿的指控。
Relations between the DoJ and the SFO, while ostensibly co-operative, have been tested of late through competition over the same targets, such as in the Libor probe . The SFO and DoJ declined to comment.
尽管美国司法部和SFO表面上是合作关系，但实际上两者间的关系最近在针对相同目标（比如Libor案）的竞争性调查中始终面临考验。SFO和美国司法部拒绝置评。
Rolls-Royce referred to previous statements that it was co-operating with the SFO and did not tolerate any improper business conduct.
罗罗援引此前的声明表示，该公司正在配合SFO的工作，不会容忍任何不当商业行为。
