Osofsky holds both UK and US legal qualifications. Her career spans public and private sectors, including five years as deputy general counsel and ethics officer at the FBI, three years as money laundering reporting officer at Goldman Sachs International and seven years in the corporate investigation division of Control Risks, where she advised on risk and compliance issues.

She joins the SFO from global firm Exiger’s London office, where she has led the firm’s investigative, compliance and assurance activities; these include assessing the money laundering and sanctions programmes of global financial institutions under orders imposed by prosecutors and regulators.

Her tenure will begin on 3 September for a renewable term of five years. Osofsky takes over from Mark Thompson who was appointed as the interim director at the end of April, and who will return to his role as chief operating officer.

Osofsky said: ‘I look forward to building on the SFO’s successful record in the fight against economic crime and leading an emboldened SFO to even greater heights.’

The previous director of the SFO, David Green, left in April following a four- year contract that was extended for two years.

Ian Mason, partner at Gowling WLG, said: 'Osofsky is well connected to US enforcement agencies, which is increasingly important when many investigations are cross-border or multi-jurisdictional, as we have seen with the LIBOR cases. However, her background is outside the normal experienced criminal practitioners appointed to this role. This could cut both ways: she will bring a fresh approach to the SFO, but it could bring significant change for staff and the SFO's organisation, and its place in the pecking order of enforcement agencies as the prime prosecutor of serious financial crime.'

Report by Pat Sweet