Ex-Goldman Lawyer Tasked With Salvation of U.K.'s Fraud Office

• Lisa Osofsky becomes Serious Fraud Office head in September • Announcement caps transition from SFO Director David Green

Former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and FBI lawyer Lisa Osofsky was named as the new boss of the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office as the embattled U.K. white-collar crime prosecutor looks beyond attempts by Prime Minister Theresa May to shut it down.

The Harvard Law School graduate, who begins a five-year term at the SFO in September, once advised Goldman Sachs bankers and managers on money laundering, fraud and regulatory risk.

The appointment comes at a period of political uncertainty for the authority. Prime Minister May’s party last ...