The United Kingdom's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has obtained a ruling that it can breach attorney-client privilege to see materials gathered as part of a company's internal investigation of possible wrongdoing, according to the Financial Times.

England's High Court of Justice in London ruled on May 8 that the mining group Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) must turn over evidence gathered in an internal probe of corruption allegations to the SFO's criminal investigators.

The company has since gone private, moved its headquarters to Luxembourg and changed its name to Eurasian Resources Group. But the court still referred to the case and the company as ENRC.