BRITAIN'S Serious Fraud Office (SFO) yesterday confirmed that it was helping Belgian authorities in their investigation of a multi million pound fraud on London's insurance market. "We are providing assistance to the Belgian authorities. It is one of our mutual legal assistance cases and was started in March," an SFO spokeswoman replied when asked about a report in the Independent on Sunday newspaper.

The report said Belgian police and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were hunting "for the conspirators behind a network of fraudulent companies that stole tens of millions of pounds from brokers and insurers in London and the US between 1989 and early 1996". The SFO declined to comment on any of the parties including an Irishman named in the report.