The UK Serious Fraud Office announced it has recovered and will return over £400,000 to nine victims of a 2001–2002 advance fee email fraud scheme. The recovery used civil powers and international cooperation despite the absence of a criminal conviction in that older case.

The Serious Fraud Office reported the recovery and restitution of more than £400,000 to nine victims of a longstanding advance fee email fraud that originated in 2001–2002. Using civil recovery mechanisms and cooperation with international partners, the SFO secured assets and arranged compensation for victims of a scheme often described as a Nigerian style advance fee fraud in which victims were induced to send money to unlock larger promised sums. The SFO highlighted that civil powers can be an effective tool to return funds to victims even when criminal convictions are not possible or when prosecutions are time barred by evidential or jurisdictional limits. Officials said the outcome underlines the role of cross border collaboration, financial investigations and targeted enforcement to achieve victim restitution and to signal that law enforcement can pursue recovery through multiple legal avenues. The agency also indicated that lessons from the case will inform future efforts to recover proceeds from global online fraud and support victim remediation.