Nick Ephgrave

Nick Ephgrave QPM
Director of the Serious Fraud Office
Incumbent
Assumed office 25 September 2023
Minister	Victoria Prentis The Lord Hermer
Preceded by	Lisa Osofsky
Assistant Commissioner Frontline Policing Metropolitan Police Service
In office September 2020 – September 2022
Preceded by	Mark Simmons
Assistant Commissioner Met Operations Metropolitan Police Service
In office January 2019 – September 2020
Preceded by	Steve House
Succeeded by	Louisa Rolfe
Chief Constable of Surrey Police
In office December 2015 – January 2019
Preceded by	Lynne Owens
Succeeded by	Gavin Stephens
Personal details
Profession	Police officer

Nicholas Bevan Ephgrave QPM is a senior British police officer. He is the Director of the Serious Fraud Office.[1] He was previously Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service. He was senior investigating officer on the re-investigation of Damilola Taylor's murder.

Early life and education

Ephgrave was born in Surrey, England. His first career was as a physicist in the National Health Service (NHS).[2]

Policing career

He first became an officer in the Metropolitan Police Service, rising to Commander of Lambeth Borough before becoming Chief Constable of Surrey Police (2016-2018).[3] He then returned to the Metropolitan Police as Assistant Commissioner for Met Operations.[4][5] In June 2016 he received the Queen's Police Medal. He also headed the National Police Chiefs' Council's Coordination Committee on Criminal Justice[6] and was due to leave the Metropolitan Police to take up a new temporary post with the Council later in 2022.[7]

On December 8th, 2024, Mister Ephgrave has raised concerns about a significant "brain drain" of whistleblowers leaving the country due to the absence of financial incentives. This situation is severely impacting the Serious Fraud Office's ability to combat corporate fraud, as many whistleblowers with critical information on economic crimes are opting to provide their intelligence to jurisdictions like the United States, where they can receive monetary rewards for their disclosures.

Ephgrave is advocating for the establishment of a similar reward scheme in the UK that would compensate whistleblowers for information leading to successful convictions. He emphasized that the current lack of incentives represents a substantial missed opportunity for tackling financial misconduct. Ephgrave pointed out that if this situation pertained to issues like terrorism or child abuse, there would be widespread outrage; thus, he argues that a proactive approach is necessary to enhance the UK's capacity to address serious fraud and corruption effectively.[8]

Honours

Ribbon	Description	Notes
	Queen's Police Medal (QPM)	Distinguished Service 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours List
	Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal	2002
	Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal	2012
	Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal	2022
	Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal

References

1. "Nick Ephgrave QPM begins tenure as Director of the Serious Fraud Office" (Press release). Serious Fraud Office. 25 September 2023.
2. Evans, Martin; Hymas, Charles (2 July 2022). "Here's who could soon replace Cressida Dick as Met Police commissioner". The Telegraph. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
3. "Met Police Appoints Two New Assistant Commissioners". Emergency Services Times. 18 December 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
4. "Senior Management Team". Metropolitan Police. Archived from the original on 4 February 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
5. "Chief Constable Nick Ephgrave to leave Surrey Police for Met". Get Surrey. 13 December 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
6. "Coordination Committee - Criminal Justice". National Police Chiefs' Council. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022.
7. Weaver, Matthew (8 August 2022). "Three top Met officers to depart as new boss prepares to take over". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
8. "Whistleblower 'brain drain' harming Britain's ability to crack down on financial crime". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 December 2024.