Serious Fraud Office Chief Executive Julie Read says the SFO has another very good year, with the investigation and prosecution of a number of important cases coming to a successful conclusion. 

In the Serious Fraud Office Annual Report for the year to 30 June 2018, Ms Read says 43 defendants appeared before the courts during the year in prosecutions brought by the SFO, including appeals, with a total of $188 million in alleged fraud value.

She says 7 cases concluded with guilty pleas and 3 matters were finalised with convictions following trials. In all matters concluded, guilty verdicts or pleas were secured and convictions upheld.

Ms Read says the cases the SFO investigates generally contain hundreds of thousands of documents or, in more complex cases, millions.

"In a recently-concluded mortgage fraud case the SFO processed more than 50 terabytes of raw data, which is the equivalent of 13 billion pages printed on both sides," she says.

"To fundamentally improve our ability to process the growing volume and digital complexity of evidentiary material, the SFO has invested $2.28 million in two new software applications. The new systems provide increased flexibility and automation, and help us to better manage the growing volume of evidence."