LONDON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Britain's Serious Fraud Office said on Thursday that Graham McNulty would take over in ‌early April as interim director to lead the investigator ‌and prosecutor.

McNulty, a former senior police officer who joined the SFO as chief ​operating officer in September 2024, will take over on April 6 from Nick Ephgrave, who is retiring after two and a half years in the role.

"It is a tremendous privilege to lead ‌the Serious Fraud Office," ⁠McNulty said, adding that he aimed to build on recent progress at the agency.

McNulty has overseen ⁠the rollout of the SFO's first case management system and its adoption of new technologies, including further uses of artificial intelligence.

Before joining ​the agency, ​he spent 31 years in ​policing, including senior roles ‌tackling serious and organised crime, economic crime and major investigations.

A spokesperson for the Attorney General's office said McNulty would stay in the role until a permanent appointment is made, which would be announced in due course.

Ephgrave, the first non-lawyer to run the ‌SFO and a former senior police ​officer too, said in January he ​would retire at the ​end of March after 38 years in public ‌service.

When he took over at the ​SFO, it ​was facing criticism over abandoned prosecutions because of disclosure failures.

He said the agency had made significant progress during his ​tenure, citing faster cases, ‌improved disclosure using AI and the creation of a ​crypto-asset capability.

(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; Additional reporting by Kirstin ​Ridley; Editing by Jane Merriman)