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WELCOME TO NIFA.CO.UK
NIFA is a Network of independent forensic accounting practices providing Solicitors, Barristers and Insurance Companies with forensic accounting and litigation support services. It was formed with the aim of providing an efficient and reliable quality service by experienced forensic accountants reporting to a common standard and consistent format.
All members are qualified Accountants as well as members of either the Academy of Experts or the Expert Witness Institute and are able to pool their considerable combined forensic accounting knowledge, expertise and resources.
FORENSIC ACCOUNTING NEWS
More financial investigators needed to cut serious and organised crime November 6, 2018
It was reported this week that the cost of serious and organised crime to the UK is at least £37 billion a year. According to the National Crime Agency (NCA), the threat posed by this crime is now greater than terrorism. It is therefore not sur...
Deep forensic accountancy October 30, 2018
Mention of forensic accounting made it onto television again recently when one of the investigating officers in Channel 4’s No Offence realised that the team would need to go into “deep forensic accountancy” in a case. The team had...
Defending against accusations October 16, 2018
Current newspaper accounts state that the US tax authorities are investigating allegations that Donald Trump participated in “dubious tax schemes”, including “instances of outright fraud” that boosted his wealth by hundreds of...
There’s no getting away with it October 16, 2018
An annual audit unearthed fraud by a school business manager, but it was only after a six-year investigation that she was finally jailed. The manager and her partner, who lived in Gillingham in Kent, siphoned off money from the school over a period o...
Criminals using cryptocurrency to launder fraud money October 2, 2018
The emergence of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin is beginning to change the face of finance all over the world, but concerns have been raised that the “semi-autonomous and decentralised” nature of these currencies is also attracting the ...
Losses from corporate employee fraud have doubled in the last year September 27, 2018
Businesses have reported £88 million in losses in the last year due to corporate employee fraud, according to data obtained from ActionFraud. These figures have doubled in the last year, from £40 million reportedly lost in 2016-2017. Co...
Calls for oligarch investigation September 20, 2018
The former head of one of the Ukraine’s biggest banks is currently in the High Court accused of defrauding the bank through a “complex string of financial transactions”. Gennadiy Bogolyubov is also at the centre of a row over how an...
New UK aid programmes will stop “dirty money” September 5, 2018
As Prime Minister Theresa May visits Kenya, International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt has announced a series of aid programmes that will help to recover millions of pounds of illegal assets. As Ms Mordaunt pointed out, illicit finance sees &...
Documents could hold the key August 20, 2018
A Russian oligarch has been ordered by a High Court judge to make documents available relating to his finances after it was deemed that he has taken “numerous elaborate steps” to hide his wealth. Farkhad Akhmedov, a former oil and gas tra...
A forensic investigation will leave nothing unexamined August 16, 2018
There has been a lot of news recently about how a forensic linguist helped to convict a murderer by identifying tiny differences in his writing habits to that of his victim. In this case, an experienced forensic linguist revealed how differences in ...
Old-fashioned but effective August 6, 2018
The case of fraudsters being thwarted by financial investigators using “good, old-fashioned detailed assessment” and interviews illustrates how vital it is for forensic accountants to use traditional methods of enquiry as well as more tec...
HMRC investigating wealthy taxpayers August 6, 2018
A Freedom of Information (FoI) request has found that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is using its ‘offshore, corporate and wealthy unit’ to investigate more than 800 UK taxpayers with assets in offshore tax havens. The taxman’s tar...
Divorcing in England July 27, 2018
The German wife of a millionaire banker raced to file a divorce petition in England after she discovered that her husband had taken his mistress to the office party. However, although Catja Thum filed a petition in England on 26 October 2015, Mr Thu...
California dreaming? July 27, 2018
If a spouse is caught trying to hide his or her assets in a divorce case in California, the court has the ability to award 100 per cent of the value of the assets to the other party. While the law is not so draconian in the UK, it is never a good ide...
The truth will come out July 27, 2018
A recent case of financial impropriety that was dropped after a thorough investigation shows that a forensic inspection of records can exonerate, as well as convict defendants. The former Chairman of Leeds Ladies FC was arrested in May 2017 over fra...
Money trail of a ghost July 2, 2018
The investigation into the financial dealings of a boss of a multi-million-pound drugs trafficking racket has not stopped now he has been jailed for 32 years. If anything, the investigation has stepped up to find out where he hid his profits so that ...
New Malaysian government to investigate suspicious money trail June 18, 2018
The Malaysian government is to investigate a £1.6 billion deal to transfer the ownership of Battersea Power Station between Malaysian investors, amid fears that the funds of ‘ordinary’ Malaysians were used to invest in it. The lead...
Hard to hide June 12, 2018
The UK’s costliest divorce is currently playing out in the UK courts after a Russian oligarch refused to pay the equivalent of $646 million to his ex-wife following their divorce in England. In December 2016, billionaire Farkhad Akhmedov was o...
Investigation into spending June 6, 2018
A convicted fraudster is having his lifestyle investigated after claiming he is too poor to repay the proceeds of his crimes yet has jetted around the world in the past five years. According to prosecutors, Gerald Smith, who was jailed for eight year...
Forensic investigation concluded June 1, 2018
UK Power Networks has launched a forensic investigation into its own Chief Executive, Basil Scarsella, after a whistleblower raised concerns over contracts awarded to his son’s business. The investigation related to a £75 million IT contr...
Investigation uncovers eight-year fraud May 21, 2018
A former Chief Executive at Age Concern has been convicted of stealing more than £700,000 during an eight-year fraud. It was uncovered after a financial manager spotted a supporting document for a fraudulent payment and a forensic investigation...
Forensic accountants hit the small screen May 8, 2018
Viewers of new BBC drama The Split will have seen how forensic accountants are used in divorce cases. In the show, a very wealthy businessman decides he wants to divorce his wife of 20-plus years and finds a lawyer with a reputation of being fierce ...
Links found in forensic investigation May 3, 2018
Since the so-called ‘Paradise Papers’ leak last Autumn, which produced a flurry of stories, there has been little further news but that changed in April this year with the showing of a BBC Panorama expose. In the programme, entitled Gangs...
Artificial intelligence – will it help or hinder the world of fraud? April 16, 2018
In recent weeks, reports have emerged of prominent companies and organisations using artificial intelligence (AI) to crack down on financial crimes. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) reportedly hired an “AI lawyer” to assist in analysing com...
Investigation into Carillion directors April 6, 2018
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has started an investigation into the conduct of two former directors of the bankrupt construction firm, Carillion, in relation to the preparation and approval of the financial statements of the business. Richar...
Investigations that led to closure March 26, 2018
News that Mossack Fonseca, the firm at the heart of the so-called ‘Panama Papers’ is to close down is a reminder of how important reputation is to a business. In a recent statement the Panamanian law firm said that “reputational det...
Independent review into Co-op collapse March 16, 2018
Following the banning of Paul Flowers, former Chair of Co-operative Bank, from the financial services industry, the Treasury has directed the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) to conduct an investigation into the bank’s collapse. Chair of t...
Groceries Code Adjudicator launches financial investigation March 9, 2018
Chief Executive of the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA), Christine Tacon, has announced a full investigation into the Co-operative supermarket’s treatment of its suppliers. The GCA said the retailer may have breached the Code through practices ...
The first Unexplained Wealth Orders March 7, 2018
A politician from central Asia has become the first person to fall foul of the new “Unexplained Wealth Order’ (UWO) regulations brought in to stem the flood of laundered money that allegedly washes through London. The National Crim...
Postmasters secure funding to bring class action lawsuit February 26, 2018
Hundreds of sub-postmasters have secured funding for a class action lawsuit against the Post Office after being taken to court in 2009. The case, which is being brought by the Justice for Sub-postmasters Alliance, relates to an allegedly faulty ...
What a forensic investigation means February 19, 2018
A new show is about to start on BBC1 called Murder, Mystery and My Family. The show will re-examine cold cases through a modern forensic prism and find out if people who were convicted and executed for murder were actually guilty or whether the evide...
War on illicit wealth February 12, 2018
Earlier this year, the Government introduced new powers in the form of Unexplained Wealth Orders, which allow the authorities to seize assets valued at more than £50,000 until the owners account for how those assets were acquired. The idea beh...
Switzerland top of the money laundering world February 2, 2018
A US research programme run by the Tax Justice Network has found that Switzerland is top of a list of countries that provide ‘assistance’ to money launderers and anyone who seeks to protect “corruptly obtained wealth”. T...
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50 per cent is worth finding January 26, 2018
The BBC has recently aired a documentary called Millionaires’ Ex-wives Club, in which the ex-wives of the ultra-wealthy discuss how they fought for what they considered was a fair percentage of their ex-husbands’ respective fortunes. One ...
Long and complex investigation January 16, 2018
A “long and complex” investigation into money laundering across the UK has culminated in prison sentences for nine people who preyed on vulnerable elderly victims. The investigation was carried out by the South East Regional Organised Cri...
McMafia shows us how to hide the money January 5, 2018
The new BBC series McMafia is about to show viewers how crooks try to hide their ill-gotten gains in shell companies and offshore accounts and ‘clean’ the money in legitimate businesses. However, it will be interesting to see whether it a...
Vatican boosts its financial investigation unit December 22, 2017
The Vatican has been praised by Council of Europe experts for its updated legislation against money laundering and its vigilance in flagging suspected cases. The Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Launderi...
Robust response requires forensic investigators December 18, 2017
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has decided to build an internal forensic accounting unit and has more than tripled the size of its enforcement team in a bid to demonstrate a “more rigorous approach”. According to the accounting wat...
Financial details of divorce to be heard in new courts December 11, 2017
The head of the family court, Sir James Munby, has said that divorce battles among the super wealthy will be heard in separate courts from February next year, making the system quicker and more efficient. These financial remedies courts will allow ca...
Judge sides with husband in dispute over matrimonial assets November 27, 2017
In a real-life divorce case brought before the courts earlier this year, a firm of forensic accountants was asked to determine what percentage of the matrimonial assets were contributed over a 29-year marriage by the husband and the wife. In this ca...
Former Autonomy CFO loses bid to escape fraud charges November 21, 2017
The long-running case between Hewlett-Packard (HP) and executives of British firm Autonomy rumbles on. In 2011, HP acquired Autonomy for £8.3 billion ($11 billion), but it was later forced to write-off around three-quarters of the co...
Joint FBI and UK investigation launched November 13, 2017
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are investigating links between the Gupta brothers’ activities in South Africa and HSBC and Standard Chartered. Chancellor Philip Hammond said he had passed on ...
Forensic accountants investigating Horizon computer system November 7, 2017
A total of 552 sub-masters, some of whom received jail sentences following prosecution, have taken a group legal action against the Post Office over the controversial computer system. The action goes back to 1999, the year when the Post Office insta...
Potential investigations into offshore usage November 2, 2017
Following the hacking of computer records at a law firm in Bermuda, some of the UK’s wealthiest individuals are bracing themselves for an investigation by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) into their use of a major offshore company. Although the ...
Detailed investigation clears couple October 27, 2017
Many people believe that being investigated for financial wrongdoing automatically means that someone is guilty but, actually, forensic investigations are often used to prove someone’s innocence as well as guilt. This has been demonstrated rece...
Michael McIndoe breaks his silence over alleged fraud October 17, 2017
Ex-professional footballer, Michael McIndoe, has broken his silence over claims he conned millions of pounds from fellow players, saying he has never run any kind of investment or Ponzi scheme. The former Wolves, Coventry City and Bristol City player...
Following a grisly trail October 6, 2017
Following the massacre in Las Vegas last Sunday, there has been huge speculation about the gunman’s motives and attention has turned to his financial history in a bid to find clues. Apparently, Stephen Paddock sent $100,000 to a Philippines ban...
Tracking the smallest financial anomalies September 29, 2017
After the UK’s Criminal Finances Act comes into force today (30 September), HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will be able to pursue money laundering, tax evasion and the possible facilitation of terror financing anywhere in the world. The Act is...
Lengthy investigation September 25, 2017
Airbus, Europe’s largest aerospace multinational, appears to be facing years of investigation by French and UK authorities amid allegations of corruption over jet sales. The investigation began after Airbus drew the attention of regulators to i...
Trawling through the evidence September 19, 2017
An investigation into a £10.25 million loan to Northampton Town FC has necessitated the analysis and examination of thousands of financial transactions, more than 500 statements and more than 2,100 exhibits. The case revolves around a loan of ...
The UK's lightly regulated corporate landscape allows money laundering... September 12, 2017
… So says a top forensic investigator who has alleged that the UK is at the centre of $3 billion (£2.27 billion) worth of laundered Azerbaijani money. The so-called ‘Azerbaijani Laundromat’ was uncovered in a joint investiga...
White collar crime prosecutions fall although offences are up September 5, 2017
Recent research shows that the number of white collar crime prosecutions in the UK fell by 12 per cent between 2015 and 2016, even though there was a four per cent increase in the number of reported offences. In fact, the number of prosecutions has ...
Samsung heir found guilty of bribery and hiding assets September 1, 2017
The heir-apparent to the Samsung business has been jailed for five years for corruption, including bribery, embezzlement and hiding assets overseas. Lee Jae-yong, also known as Jay Y Lee, was arrested in February for bribing Choi Soon-sil, a close fr...
Study highlights shell company loopholes August 30, 2017
According to a new study of corporate filings, some UK shell companies under offshore control may be skirting new rules that were designed to clamp down on corruption and tax evasion. A shell company is a corporation without active business op...
How to find those hidden assets August 29, 2017
News that Roman Abramovich is about to get divorced for the third time and is facing a hefty payout to his wife is a reminder that when either partner has wealth, the ‘other side’ will want to ensure they are admitting to all of it. Of co...
Investigation to see if there is a case to answer August 4, 2017
While some cases can be brought on strong suspicion of wrongdoing, others require an investigation to see whether or not there is a case to answer. On such occasions, a matter is investigated and the evidence found is put before the Crown Prosecution...
When the accused fights back August 4, 2017
Any investigation in the British courts involves an opportunity for individuals or entities accused of a crime to put their arguments forward. This means that a forensic accountant’s investigation can be used to prove innocence as well as guilt...
Forensic investigation element of UK's longest criminal trial August 4, 2017
A case that started in Glasgow’s High Court in September 2015 has just ended with the jailing of a married couple for large-scale property fraud in what is believed to be longest criminal trial in UK legal history. The case has been described b...
A family affair August 4, 2017
A Surrey man and his wife, brother, sister and mother have all been found guilty of fraud after what local police described as “a very complex case, which took substantial time and effort to unravel”. The ‘lynchpin’, Jason Hu...
When there is no evidence of wrongdoing August 4, 2017
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has closed its criminal investigation into the conduct of the Bank of England saying that, after a thorough investigation, there is “no evidence of criminality in relation to this matter”. The SFO had been ...
Hiding Behind a Shell August 4, 2017
Soccer superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo, has been accused by the Spanish authorities of using what they believe to be a shell company in the Virgin Islands to “create a screen” in order to hide his total income, which amounts to almost £...
Dirty Money June 20, 2017
According to The Financial Times, the amount of ‘dirty money’ washing around in the UK financial system has reached a record high. The newspaper’s research found that requests for information from foreign governments, regardi...
Following the money June 7, 2017
‘Follow the money’ is a key exhortation in most investigations, as cash is a used as a motivator even in crimes that appear to have nothing to do with it. One recent example of this is the alleged involvement of Donald Trump’s...
Forensic investigators giving expert witness evidence June 5, 2017
Investigations have been ongoing for some years in the case of a South Wales man who was found to have hidden assets by a judge earlier this month. The man owns a skip hire business and had already been jailed for eight months for breaching condition...
Financial investigation prompts Charity Commission action May 23, 2017
A financial investigation by Yorkshire Police into a martial arts charity has prompted the Charity Commission to freeze the charity’s bank accounts. The force has begun a financial investigation into the Jack Raine Community Foundation, which w...
Evidence of efficacy of forensic accountants May 12, 2017
A new study has proved that business owners and individuals are recognising the benefits of bringing in a forensic accountant early in cases such as professional negligence or a shareholder dispute, as their use shot up by over 20 per cent in the yea...
Washing the dirty laundry May 12, 2017
Type ‘money laundering UK’ into a Google search and you get over 200,000 results. Many may not be relevant but there is no doubt that money laundering features more commonly in the commercial world than ever before. In a nutshell, m...
Evidence for forensic accountants May 2, 2017
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has this week raided two football clubs and arrested a number of people in a bid to recover evidence that will be used in a forensic investigation. 180 officers were deployed across the UK and France and have collected...
Forensic examination of cycling body's records April 26, 2017
British Cycling has been asked to open its financial records to forensic examination after allegations of impropriety over several years. In essence, the governing body has been accused of misusing public money intended for its World Class Perf...
Shell companies April 10, 2017
Forensic financial investigations appear to be flavour of the month on television at the moment, as, hard on the heels of Follow the Money, another series, Vera, has been talking about “getting the forensic boys in”. However, where Follow...
A lavish lifestyle April 4, 2017
Former head of the notorious Adams family, Terry Adams, has just had his appeal against a compensation order of almost £700,000 quashed. Mr Adams said he had insufficient funds to pay a debt to the Government of £651,611 but a judge in th...
Keeping the money clean March 27, 2017
One of the problems criminals have is ‘cleaning’ the money they get for their nefarious activities. Therefore, they have to come up with increasingly inventive ways to launder it and there is currently a case involving Russia that suggest...
Following the Money March 20, 2017
BBC 4’s series Follow the Money is back on our screens for a second series. The crime thriller sheds light on the individuals trying to uncover economic crime, and in the latest instalment the forensic investigators were asked to unravel dirty...
Fraud at highest point in five years March 10, 2017
Recent research has found that there was a 32 per cent increase in the total value of reported fraud and a 35 per cent increase in the average value of reported fraud in 2016. However, the report comes with the caveat that reported fraud is the tip o...
Investigating beneficial ownership and other assets March 3, 2017
Dubbed “Africa’s youngest billionaire”, Ashish Thakkar has recently lost a ruling over the ownership of family assets in his divorce case. Mr Thakkar, who claims to have assets of just £445,532, says he has no control over Mar...
Criminal investigation follows Charity Commission findings February 20, 2017
Former Charlton Athletic footballer Richard Rufus is being investigated by City of London Police after a Charity Commission report found “mismanagement” at Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC). Mr Rufus had already been branded ...
Investigation in the fast lane February 13, 2017
A spokeswoman for the Insolvency Service has told MPs that the “fast-tracked” investigation into the collapse of BHS may last until April 2019 because of the sheer amount of data compiled. According to Sarah Albon, the authority has now g...
10-year investigation uncovers multi-million pound fraud February 3, 2017
An investigation described as the “longest and most complex case in the history of Thames Valley Police” has resulted in six people being convicted of a multi-million pound fraud. The five men, one of whom was a senior banker, and one wom...
Nothing beats evidence January 23, 2017
Following news that Rolls-Royce has paid £671m this week to UK and US authorities to settle allegations of corruption, the Financial Times came up with a classic headline – ‘Fear the secret agent less than the accountant’. Thi...
Individuals charged by DoJ January 13, 2017
Although the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) closed its investigation into alleged manipulation of the foreign exchange market last March due of insufficient evidence, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) has now indicted three UK-based former forex traders...
Global Libor investigation January 6, 2017
Investigators from the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) interviewed the head of Barclays in Japan, Mark Dearlove, last month as part of its investigation into Libor rigging; a sign that more senior executives are coming under scrutiny in the global probe. ...
Financial investigator praised December 23, 2016
A financial investigator who tracked down almost £185,000 conned out of a 91-year-old woman with Parkinson’s disease by three so-called ‘carers’ was praised by a judge at the group’s confiscation hearing. The three women...
Former Tesco executive avoids charges December 16, 2016
The former Commercial Director of Tesco, Kevin Grace, has been told this week that he will not face charges from the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) as it continues its investigation into a £326m hole in the supermarket giant’s accounts. The a...
Not such a beautiful game December 12, 2016
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has confirmed it is investigating the tax affairs of dozens of football clubs, players and agents for ‘potential irregularities’. According to a spokeswoman for the Revenue, 43 players, eight agents and 12 ...
Looking for the evidence December 2, 2016
The former Finance Director of UK software group Autonomy has been accused by US prosecutors of perpetrating an elaborate financial fraud designed to ‘deceive investors, analysts and auditors’. Sushovan Hussain is alleged to have been the...
Laundry basket set to shrink November 25, 2016
The National Crime Agency (NCA) says that up to £90bn is laundered through the UK each year, which the Government is aiming to stop with the Criminal Finance Bill currently going through Parliament. Under the new laws, hundreds of British prope...
The Pensions Regulator’s “complex investigation" November 18, 2016
News emerged this week that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has allegedly arrested Dominic Chappell – the businessman who bought BHS for £1 from billionaire tycoon Sir Philip Green. The alleged arrest came on the eve of a High Cou...
Panama Papers investigation leading to further reviews November 11, 2016
Following the disclosure earlier this year of the ‘Panama Papers’, Chancellor Philip Hammond has revealed this week that the financial affairs of a further 43 wealthy individuals are under review. When the details first came to light, the...
Investigating higher earners November 7, 2016
The National Audit Office (NAO) has published a report on enquiries by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) into ‘super-rich’ taxpayers and identified how these people are investigated. According to the NAO, one in three of the richest people ...
Stirring up a hornet's nest October 31, 2016
Watford FC has confirmed that the club has launched an internal investigation into an alleged fabricated financial document supplied to the English Football League (EFL) and that it is taking the matter “extremely seriously”. The P...
Date set for Tesco fraud trial October 21, 2016
A date has been set for three former Tesco executives to appear in court to face charges of fraud and false accounting in relation to a scandal at the retail giant that left a ‘black hole’ of up to £326m in its accounts. All three m...
SFO expected to make swift move in Airbus inquiry October 18, 2016
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is expected to ‘move quickly” in the criminal inquiry into Airbus’s use of third-party agents to win commercial jet sales. The case involves discrepancies over the amount of agents’ fees d...
Forensic Accountants don't suffer from cold feet October 10, 2016
Most people in the UK are aware that iconic TV series Cold Feet is back on our screens almost 20 years after it started and features the same characters, who are now older but not necessarily wiser. In fact, one of the gang, management consultant Dav...
Knowing where the bodies are buried September 30, 2016
News emerged this week that notorious gangster, John ‘Goldfinger’ Palmer, who was once described as Britain’s richest criminal, had been under surveillance for 16 years, even while in prison. Never far from complex financial deals, ...
Whistleblower sparks forensic investigation September 23, 2016
A whistleblower at supermarket giant Tesco sparked a criminal investigation into alleged false accounting after a new Chief Executive took over two years ago. This has led to three former directors being accused this week of acting dishonestly for pe...
Divorce and the complex webs of hidden assets September 13, 2016
With London the acknowledged divorce capital of the world, a national newspaper has written a piece on the more inspired places spouses try and hide their assets. The list is long, however, the fact that they have been discovered shows just how vital...
Forensic investigations can clear as well as condemn September 2, 2016
A forensic investigation lasting almost two years into former Tesco Chief Financial Officer, Laurie McIlwee, has resulted in it being closed. In December 2014, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) launched an investigation into the action of Tesco&r...
Businesses need to be on their guard August 22, 2016
A recent report by Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud and cybercrime reporting centre, has found that one in five businesses has been defrauded by an employee, although this figure is thought to be the tip of the iceberg. Worryingly, this ri...
Forensic investigation uncovers abuse of trust August 14, 2016
A painstaking and lengthy forensic investigation into abuse of trust by a former senior member of the Royal Household has led to the conviction of four people this week. The jury at the trial of Ronald Harper, who was employed by the Royal Household ...
Companies House plans widely criticised August 5, 2016
There has been severe criticism of the proposal by Companies House to erase the accounts of dissolved firms after six years in an attempt to reform the storage and public access of data. According to forensic accountants, this would disrupt investiga...
Forensic Accountant uncovers fraudster July 4, 2016
Although it tends to be the big money stories that hit the headlines, forensic accountants are key in ‘ordinary’ situations where people suspect fraud, as a recent story that made the local press underlines. A carer in Preston, Lancashir...
Russian oligarch divorce case highlights need for close forensic investigation June 24, 2016
The former wife of a Russian oligarch has engaged forensic accountants to prove that she is owed the £5bn she claims is half her former husband’s wealth, which she alleges is hidden behind complex corporate structures. Although initially ...
Money trail nails guilty party June 20, 2016
In the latest of the prolific references to financial forensic investigations to hit our screens recently, a suspect pharmacist-turned-businessman is put in the frame after financial investigators find he is linked with a series of payments to a man ...
FORENSIC ACCOUNTING HITS THE BIG SCREEN June 13, 2016
The sheer number of forensic investigations into potential financial wrongdoing in the media has brought the work of forensic accountants into the public domain. Therefore, it is of little surprise that forensic investigators will be key in a forthco...
Forensic Accountants Ahoy June 6, 2016
Actress Amber Heard, Johnny Depp’s wife of 15 months, who is filing for divorce, has apparently asked him to cover her forensic accountant’s fees to the tune of $25,000, as well as $50,000 a month in temporary ‘spousal support&rsquo...
Maintaining an audit trail May 31, 2016
The Bank of England has ordered UK banks to detail steps taken to secure computers connected to the SWIFT bank-messaging network after a still-unidentified group used the system to steal £56m from Bank Bangladesh. This previously unreported act...
RBS bosses will not face criminal charges following complex forensic investigation May 25, 2016
Prosecutors from the Crown Office have announced that former Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) bosses will not face criminal charges in connection with the sale of shares in the bank in the months leading up to its collapse. They had been investigating th...
VAT frauds investigated May 16, 2016
Two separate VAT frauds have been uncovered this week by forensic investigators and, ironically, both were carried out by men with claims to be on first-name terms with celebrities here and in America. One, who described himself as a “designer ...
Importance of Forensic Investigators May 9, 2016
Finding out ‘where the money went’ has been in the news this week, including the story of a Sunday Times investigation and complaints from the National Police Chiefs’ Council. The stories are from two opposite ends of the spectrum, ...
Footballer welcomes forensic investigation April 29, 2016
Former Chelsea striker, Didier Drogba, has reacted angrily to claims by the Daily Mail that only £14,115 of the £1.7m donated to his charity, the Didier Drogba Foundation, has gone to help causes in Africa. Threatening legal action agains...
Unexplained Wealth April 22, 2016
As the ‘Panama Papers’ scandal rumbles on, the Government is announcing a series of moves to crack down on corruption. One proposal is for a register of beneficial ownership, which will force offshore firms buying UK property to reveal th...
Every available tool April 15, 2016
People who carry out fraud will always leave a trace of their wrongdoing, however clever they think they have been. Some think that if they use a complex network of bank accounts or set up shell companies, for example, no one will be able to wo...
Panama Papers April 8, 2016
The so-called ‘Panama Papers’ scandal has led to authorities all over the world setting forensic investigations in motion to see whether leaked papers contain any evidence of wrongdoing. Countries from Germany to Colombia have been spurre...
Follow the money April 1, 2016
Forensic accountants and investigators are in the spotlight on TV now, as the latest Scandinavian thriller on BBC4 is all about a team of investigators trying to find out what is going on in a seemingly thriving business. Called, aptly enough, Follow...
The Deuce Of an investigation March 21, 2016
New claims surround the world of tennis, as an Italian prosecutor investigating match fixing in the game has criticised the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) for not pursuing the matter. Roberto Di Martino has called for more top tennis players to be looke...
Shedding light on Goldfinger’s dealings March 14, 2016
Earlier this week, police confirmed that convicted fraudster John “Goldfinger” Palmer was murdered in what police believe to be a professional hit, even though he had allegedly “gone straight” for more than a decade. &nb...
Further forensic investigation to come March 9, 2016
A former sub-postmistress has secured the funding she needs to take a civil action against the Post Office, having been jailed in 2010 for false accounting. Rubbina Shaheen has always protested her innocence and is also seeking to get her conviction ...
Fraud on the increase March 1, 2016
Recent research has found that the UK is a “major centre of excellence” as far as forensic accounting is concerned, with a number of individuals being nominated for awards in a strong international competition. This is reassuring, as new ...
Forensic investigation continues February 12, 2016
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is looking at the activities of a Barclays’ hedge fund after allegations that it profited from using confidential information on Libor “low-balling” during the financial crisis. According to The Times,...
Hacking uncovered by forensic investigation February 9, 2016
An Austrian aerospace parts manufacturer has been the target of a cyber attack that resulted in a €50m loss to the firm. The firm revealed that its financial accounting department had been the target of cyber fraud after forensic investigations ...
Tesco breaches industry code of conduct February 1, 2016
The Grocery Code Adjudicator found this week that Tesco “knowingly delayed paying money to suppliers in order to improve its own financial position”. Having analysed extensive evidence, Christine Tacon declared that the supermarket giant ...
What the deuce? January 22, 2016
Amid allegations of financial shenanigans in athletics, football and cricket, the ‘gentleman’s game’ of tennis is the latest sport to be tarnished by rumours of widespread match fixing. As the Australian Open got underway this week,...
Divorce software error hits thousands of couples January 11, 2016
It was revealed just before Christmas that a software glitch with Ministry of Justice (MoJ) ‘Form E’ might have cause the financial settlement of thousands of divorced couples to be incorrect. Following the discovery, the MoJ has la...
The evidence will determine the outcome December 18, 2015
Fifa president Sepp Blatter has presented his case to the governing body’s ethics committee against his suspension with, he says, evidence that the £1.3m payment he made to Michel Platigny was all above board. The payment is the subject o...
Finance workers ignoring cyber security threats December 14, 2015
Recent research has found that finance workers are most likely to circumvent their company’s cyber security protection, with 35 per cent of those polled indicating they “don’t fully understand” what constitutes an online secur...
Nowhere is far enough away November 30, 2015
Duncan Bannatyne must certainly have a lot on his mind just now. Gruelling tests on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here may be preferable to facing an investigation on his arrival in the UK. According to the Daily Mail, when the former Dr...
Following the Money November 2, 2015
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has confirmed this month that it is looking into potential money laundering offences in the UK related to FIFA corruption, following receipt of “new information”. A spokesman for the SFO said that one of the...
Fraud and cyber crime most prevalent crimes October 29, 2015
For the first time in its history, the results of the British Crime Survey show that fraud and cyber crime are the most prevalent crimes committed against people in England and Wales. This statistic is even more worrying because crime in this area is...
Women win right to reopen divorce settlements October 19, 2015
Two women who said that their ex-husbands had misled judges about how much they were worth have this week won the right to have their settlements re-examined. In a landmark ruling, which could have huge implications for similar claims, one lawyer cla...
Less than beautiful allegations October 15, 2015
Footballing body FIFA is back in the news as it has been announced this week that outgoing president Sepp Blatter and UEFA president Michel Platini, along with general secretary Jerome Valcke, who is already on leave amid allegations of black market ...
Where cyber crime goes, forensic accountants follow October 2, 2015
A search on the internet for cyber crime returns almost 6.5 million results, which serves to illustrate how prevalent and dangerous this activity has become. However, for every article on the crime, there is another one detailing how experts are tack...
Calls for forensic wage audit September 28, 2015
As the Government’s consultation on the implementation of the new National Minimum Wage comes to an end, a story has erupted in the North East about contractor’s pay rates. It appears that two subcontractors have had their contracts cance...
Pensioners could benefit from forensic investigation September 25, 2015
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that it is to carry out a “forensic analysis” on thousands of annuities sold on a non-advised basis since 2008 to see if they were unsuitable for savers. Hundreds of thousands of pension...
Supporting evidence September 11, 2015
Emails and other documentation have featured heavily in evidence in the investigation of several cases of fraud or alleged financial misconduct lately. In fact, one woman perpetrated her whole scam using emails she altered so that it appeared that he...
Forensic accountants’ report spurs Panorama investigation September 8, 2015
In the latest twist in the Post Office versus former employees saga, a Panorama programme aired this month has found no evidence of theft by a sub-postmaster. This is a long-running story, which came to public attention in 2012 after a number of form...
Accountant turns assassin August 21, 2015
While this might appear to be a somewhat far-fetched title it refers to a new Ben Affleck film which many a forensic accountant is hoping will glamorise the profession. In this instance, the accountant in question is a ‘mild-mannered, socially...
Forensic investigation could clear postmistress’s name August 18, 2015
A postmistress who was jailed after the investigation by the Post Office into financial irregularities at post offices across the country has been boosted by the intervention of a firm of forensic accountants. Rubbina Shaheen, who kept a post office ...
Forensic analysis illustrates poor fund management August 18, 2015
A forensic analysis of the accounts of beleaguered charity Kids Company shows that it was the Trustees’ failure to build up a reserve that contributed to its downfall. In fact, two Finance Directors left in less than three years because no one ...
Deferred payment prosecution July 31, 2015
A small firm in Rotherham could be about to make legal history by becoming the first business to strike a deferred prosecution agreement with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), as a way of avoiding prosecution on bribery charges. If agreed, the deal wou...
Independent investigation July 27, 2015
An independent report has found that technology giant Toshiba overstated profits over a period of six years and that senior executives were complicit in the scandal. This could result in up to 400 billion Yen in charges and the resignation of most se...
A costly business July 20, 2015
The sale of personal shares in a house building firm has made the news, as the Director involved has said he sold them to fund his divorce settlement. Joint Managing Director of Telford Homes plc, John Fitzgerald, sold 275,000 shares earlier th...
Problems at the Post Office July 16, 2015
It has widely been reported by the BBC that a confidential report, commissioned by the Post Office, has bolstered the cases of dozens of Subpostmasters and Subpostmistresses who ...
Forensic accountants and food fraud July 6, 2015
The Danes have been employing forensic accountants to investigate food fraud for years, under the premise that a fraudster will always leave evidence in the books. To that end, in 2006, they set up the Danish Food Flying Squad, which includes inspect...
The 24-hour divorce – not possible for many June 26, 2015
British couples are to be allowed to get divorced in as little as 24 hours from now on, as they can attend a regional ‘divorce centre’ to work on their marriage under a court shake-up. Currently, an uncontested divorce can take up to 33 w...
Forensic accountants – expert witnesses June 23, 2015
As the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) puts it, forensic accountants are the ‘detectives of the finance world’ and, like their sleuth counterparts in other sectors, they investigate allegations and seek to ...
There is always a digital footprint June 12, 2015
Some people seem to think that if they don’t do something in the ‘real’ world, they leave no trace but this isn’t true; anything anyone does in the digital world leaves a trail and in the case of alleged fraudsters, it is the ...
No smoke without fire? June 5, 2015
That’s what the old saying would lead us to believe but it’s not always the case, of course. It’s what Greg Dyke is saying about Sepp Blatter’s resignation as President of FIFA this week and it’s often said when circumst...
No stone left unturned June 4, 2015
Reports of the various scandals in the news at the moment, from FIFA to the Keydata ‘death bonds’ saga, are the culmination of, in some cases, years of painstaking investigation into the financial dealings of the various bodies involved. ...
Forensic investigation uncovered the extent of spot market manipulation May 22, 2015
A statement from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) revealed this week that its Washington Field Office, in collaboration with partners abroad, particularly the UK’s regulatory law enforcement authorities, uncovered manipulation of the f...
A sad case for forensic accountants May 18, 2015
As the general population ages and dementia and general sickness become more prevalent amongst the elderly, it is unfortunately likely that there will be more cases such as the one concerning the man who defrauded his dying grandfather out of his lif...
Claim and counter claim May 11, 2015
The long-running saga of the acquisition of UK firm Autonomy by technology giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) has taken a new turn this week after new details of HP’s $5.1bn (£3.6bn) lawsuit have emerged in a court filing. In the documents, HP ac...
Quantifying loss May 5, 2015
The shocking news from Nepal and the extent of the devastation and loss of life the earthquake has served is a stark reminder that human beings are at the mercy of ‘acts of god’ such as this. We are lucky in this country that we don...
Forensic accountants find flaws April 27, 2015
Forensic accountants engaged to investigate the treatment of sub-postmasters by the Post Office have found that the Post Office failed to properly investigate the cause of cash shortfalls in post offices around the country before launching proceeding...
Major investigations April 17, 2015
As news comes of the “extremely severe” sentence handed to Nina Ricci perfume heir, Arlette Ricci by a Paris court for tax fraud, the French authorities have announced that they are opening criminal investigations into HSBC following the ...
The potential to avoid court April 13, 2015
The battle between IT giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) and the former directors of Autonomy, the company it bought in 2011 on the basis that the business was thriving, has taken another turn after HP has signed an agreement with Autonomy’s auditors t...
Fraud and Forensic Accounting March 30, 2015
News that Tesco is likely to be sued by another group of shareholders over the retailer’s £263m profit mis-statement will almost certainly lead to further forensic investigations on the part of their legal team. The investors are demandin...
Accounting for food fraud March 23, 2015
Although more often associated with white-collar fraud, a leading academic argues that forensic accounting can track food fraud and should be used by the UK Food Crime Unit as a matter of routine. Lisa Jack, Professor of Accounting at the Unive...
Landmark ruling for spouses of wealthy partners February 27, 2015
In a recent landmark ruling, the ex-wife of a wealthy equine vet will have her personal maintenance payments stopped and was told to get a job and not expect to live off her husband for the rest of her life. In addition, the judge said that divorcees...
Low level fraud increasing February 23, 2015
New research has found that, while the total value of reported fraud cases fell to its lowest level in more than a decade last year, the volume of cases has risen to its highest level with lower level crime on the increase. However, the incidence of ...
Protecting Third Parties February 13, 2015
With hearts and flowers everywhere at the moment, one could be forgiven for thinking we are a nation of romantics but the romance can quickly wear off when someone is unwittingly caught up in crime and has their assets frozen or faces a bill from the...
Tesco to be investigated February 9, 2015
The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA), which is set to be handed new powers to impose penalties on large retailers of up to one per cent of their annual UK turnover, has announced this week that supermarket giant Tesco is to be investigated over its r...
Union leaders push for forensic investigation into business failure February 2, 2015
Union leaders have called for a forensic investigation into the collapse of parcel delivery firm City Link after the company, which had 2,727 employees across the UK, called in administrators after years of “substantial losses”. City Lin...
Autonomy case dropped by SFO January 23, 2015
The Serious Fraud Office has dropped its investigation into the sale of Autonomy to Hewlett Packard, saying that, on the information available, there is little realistic prospect of a conviction. However, HP is determined to continue with a separate ...
An inside job January 16, 2015
New research has found that more than 80 per cent of frauds are committed by someone inside the firm, such as employees or subcontractors, rather than by an unknown person. Studies show that almost half of the most frequent types of insider act...
Tell-tale signs January 12, 2015
With the holiday period firmly behind us, people are back at work and dreaming of the sun but could there be someone in the office who looks like they are on a permanent vacation and yet earns no more than their co-workers? If so, they might be...
New forensic accountants to provide ‘fresh eyes’ December 22, 2014
The ex-wife of the late, bankrupt property tycoon Scot Young, who tragically fell to his death earlier this month, is looking for a “fresh pair of eyes” to search for the millions she is convinced were hidden during the couple’s div...
Forensic investigation uncovered scale of Ponzi fraud December 15, 2014
Three of Bernard Madoff’s aides were given prison sentences this week for their part in helping the Ponzi scheme fraudster steal as much as $20bn from investors. Daniel Bonventre, who ran Madoff’s broker-dealer unit for almost 40 ye...
Accounting differences, not fraud December 8, 2014
There have been further developments in the long-running legal battle between Autonomy, the UK firm that was bought by Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011, and its buyer, with Autonomy’s founder citing a document he says shows differences in accountin...
Defence against too much December 2, 2014
Although by any standards a divorce settlement of more than £337m could be judged a good result, what is being hailed as the largest settlement ever seen in a British court is actually less than the wife’s initial claim thanks to forensic...
Investigation takes five years November 21, 2014
The former Chief Executive of failed retailer JJB Sports has been convicted this week of a million pound fraud, following a five-year investigation, having been found guilty of receiving undeclared and dishonest cash payments from suppliers. Christo...
Rank No Barrier To Forensic Investigation November 18, 2014
A Spanish court said last week that it would uphold charges of tax fraud against Cristina de Borbon, the sister of King Felipe VI of Spain in an enquiry into corruption, paving the way for an unprecedented criminal trial. However, the High Cour...
NIFA Welcomes a new member Ensors Chartered Accountants October 31, 2014
NIFA's newest member Ensors Chartered Accountants has offices in Bury St Edmunds, Cambridge, Huntingdon, Ipswich, London and Saxmundham. Contact Fiona Hotston Moore fiona.hotstonmoore@ensors.co.uk who is a practising mem...
7 key differences between trial & confiscation by David Winch November 3, 2014
In many respects confiscation proceedings exist in a different world from criminal trials. It is important that lawyers recognise this and adjust their approach to the work accordingly. This article points up, briefly and in the most gener...
He said, she said October 31, 2014
A software tycoon described his ex-wife as a “psychopath” after a bitter row erupted over a family fortune, during which she claimed he had hidden assets, including the proceeds of the sale of two flats in North Africa. She went on ...
An even bigger hole uncovered October 27, 2014
Now that the financial investigators looking into the overstatement of profits by Tesco plc have submitted their findings to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), further anomalies have been discovered, taking the overstatement to £263m, &poun...
Investigations unsettle management structure October 20, 2014
Continuing investigations into the £250m overstatement of Tesco’s first half profits appear to have caused turmoil at the top, with news of two more directors set to quit. The Company Secretary will leave early next year, having han...
A Messi Business October 10, 2014
Soccer star Lionel Messi is set to face trial for alleged tax fraud after a judge rejected his appeal to have the charges dropped on Friday. The judge ruled that Messi should have been aware of how his father was managing his financial affairs, meani...
No hiding the distortions October 6, 2014
Tesco’s recent accounting mis-statement shows how the mis-recording of revenues generally falls into one of two categories, which are either booking revenues earned in one quarter being moved forward or backward into another one, and fake sales...
Complicating the cost of divorce September 26, 2014
Courts are finding it difficult to make judgments in the cases of estranged wives who become involved in new relationships while still fighting over money with their husbands. According to Mr Justice Mostyn, such relationships were “a sig...
Forensic investigators keep bosses posted September 23, 2014
The Post Office has been criticised recently for its handling of computer problems that led to a number of sub-postmasters being accused of theft and, in some cases, losing their livelihood, homes and even their liberty. Back in 2013, forensic ...
Interpreting the evidence September 12, 2014
As predicted, the case against former senior managers of Autonomy, the firm that was bought by Hewlett-Packard (HP) for $11bn (£6.7bn) in 2011 and then found to be heading for a ‘financial plane crash’, is hotting up. Now an e...
Little things mean a lot September 11, 2014
A payroll administrator has just been jailed for four years after a routine audit uncovered a ‘small accounting discrepancy’, which then led to the discovery that the man had defrauded his company of £2.9m over several years. ...
Checking up on the details September 2, 2014
According to research carried out last year, the construction industry was deliberately targeted by criminals perpetrating invoice fraud and one firm lost a staggering £1.1m this way, although the losses on average ranged between £95,000 ...
Doing the diligence August 26, 2014
News that Hewlett Packard (HP) has finally accused the former officials of a firm it bought in 2011 of fraud should serve as a reminder to any organisation thinking of purchasing another one to get their financial investigations done thoroughly by fo...
Accounting detectives August 25, 2014
It is a measure of how much financial investigation is part of the current mind-set when references to ‘bank account anomalies’ appear in popular TV shows. In the first episode of the BBC’s New Tricks series, which regularly p...
More than number crunching August 19, 2014
News that Terry Adams, former head of a north London criminal organisation, was turned down for a certificate of inadequacy to show he lacked the funds to meet his crime-linked debts, is evidence that forensic accountants do more than just number cru...
Messi investigation August 12, 2014
A judge in Spain has rejected a prosecutor’s request to drop charges of tax fraud against Lionel Messi and has ordered the investigation into three cases of suspected unpaid taxes to proceed. A court statement said that there was "su...
Forensic accountants expose ‘fraud, which is theft’ July 25, 2014
These are the words of Michelle Young, ex-wife of former property tycoon Scot Young, who even went to jail rather than disclose the whereabouts of his assets during their long and bitter divorce. Speaking to the Daily Mail last month in her fir...
Expert forensic accountants can help prevent fraud July 21, 2014
It was announced earlier this week that the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) has written off the £1.1m losses it incurred when it was the victim of mandate fraud but that it is now setting up an in-house team to target financial crime p...
Director Ban Increase Could Lead To Forensic Accountancy Need July 14, 2014
With an increase in directors in England, Wales and Scotland being disqualified by the Insolvency Service this year, there may be more need for forensic accountants to investigate alleged fraudulent or wrongful trading. Figures from the Governm...
Agreement Comes About Through Forensic Accounting June 30, 2014
Following encouragement by the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA), eight major grocers have made voluntary commitments to put a time limit on forensic investigations of suppliers' accounts that have sometimes seen questionable demands made of suppl...
A Need For Forensic Accountants June 20, 2014
According to a report from the EU’s statistical office, Eurostat, the UK has the highest divorce rate in the European Union, with 2.8 divorces per 1,000 marriages, compared with just 0.6 per 1,000 in Luxembourg. Since divorce settlements ...
Forensic Accountants Will Act Quickly June 13, 2014
One of the proposed legal reforms announced in the Queen’s Speech last week was a crackdown on organised crime, involving the strengthening of the laws on recovering criminal assets. The Serious Crime Bill 2014, which is expected to come ...
Forensic Accountants Unravel The Knots June 10, 2014
A wealthy former model turned fashion director, who was awarded £32m when she divorced her first husband, has just had her second husband jailed for contempt of court. Following her divorce in 2004 from co-founder of French Connection, St...
Forensic Accountants Give Football Club A Sporting Chance June 2, 2014
The owner of Leeds United FC has called in a team of forensic accountants to get to the bottom of financial chaos at the club after being told that its finances were “the worst mess” his advisors had ever seen. Forensic accountants ...
Fighting Fraud With Forensic Accountants May 23, 2014
Recent research has found that over a third of insurance intermediaries expect the problem of fraud facing the insurance industry to worsen over the next three to five years, with one of the biggest problems being the huge increase in data that firms...
Winning A Fair Share May 16, 2014
Appeal Court judges have ruled that the ‘Cinderella’ daughter of farmers in Wales should receive a fair share in her parents’ £7m estate for the years of low-paid work she had put into it. Eirian Davies was repeate...
Digging Into The Figures May 9, 2014
News that Balfour Beatty and National Grid are investigating allegations of fraud on a multi-million pound gas mains replacement contract is a reminder that any business owner suspecting malpractice within the firm should employ a team of forensic ac...
Effect of money laundering on UK economy May 2, 2014
The National Crime Agency has just published the most comprehensive public-facing analysis to date of the serious and organised crime threats affecting the UK, including the threat to the UK economy from money laundering. According to the repor...
Forensic Accountants can investigate offshore trust assets April 25, 2014
The ongoing and increasingly bitter divorce between aviation tycoon Clive Joy and his wife Nichola has highlighted how forensic accountants can put offshore trust assets under the microscope. A court in London heard earlier this month that Cliv...
Shareholders In The News - 14 April 2014 April 14, 2014
The European Commission has just published plans to give the shareholders of publicly quoted companies greater involvement in executive pay policies but what happens in smaller firms when shareholders fall out amongst themselves? The best option fo...
Forensic Accountancy Made Famous April 4, 2014
Once only spoken of in the business world or high profile divorce cases, forensic accountancy has now become so ‘mainstream’ that even scriptwriters on prime time TV can use the phrase, safe in the knowledge that the viewing public will k...
Directors Who Fail To Keep Accurate Financial Records Face Bans April 1, 2014
News earlier this month that a company director was disqualified from holding such a position for eight years for failing to keep full and accurate books and records should be a warning that acting in this manner will always be uncovered through a fi...
When Marriages And Businesses Collide March 24, 2014
Earlier this year a wife won the first round in a bitter divorce after 43 years of marriage, claiming that her “old-fashioned” husband wanted to favour their son over their daughters when it came to sharing out the family business interes...
Proceeds Of Crime Auctioned Off March 14, 2014
South Yorkshire Police and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) are organising an auction next week of jewellery seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act, in a bid to claw back some of the £26m a man and his associates made through tax evasion. ...
Pre-Nups Could Protect Women From ‘Predatory’ Men In Divorce March 4, 2014
As proposals from the Law Commission on the implementation of binding pre-nuptial agreements are put before the Government, a Peer has called for a law to allow couples to settle the terms of their divorce, in a bid to stop men marrying wealthy women...
Delighted Defence - 25 Feb 2014 February 25, 2014
Forensic accountants working on behalf of property tycoons Vincent and Robert Tchenguiz will no doubt be delighted following a Court of Appeal ruling that liquidators working for the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) must disclose documents relating to a re...
Witnesses For The Defence - 17 Feb 2014 February 17, 2014
If ever anyone needed expert witnesses on their side, it must be the Infanta Cristina, daughter of King Juan Carlos of Spain, who appeared in court last weekend to face questions over an alleged financial scandal involving her husband, the Duke of Pa...
Experts at finding evidence - 10 Feb 2014 February 10, 2014
Forensic accountants have been in the news recently, as their expert services have been used by supermarkets which fear that they have overpaid suppliers in the past and need proof of transactions going back as far as six years. However, when d...
More Money Needed To Combat Defence’s Forensic Accountants - 3 Feb 2014 February 3, 2014
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has this week asked the Government for more money to help it press on with its cases against people and firms it suspects of serious financial misconduct. The SFO’s budget has fallen from £52m to &poun...
Fraud Down Last Year - 24 Jan 2014 January 24, 2014
The analysis of fraud trends during 2013 by the UK's Fraud Prevention Service (CIFAS) reveals that, overall, fraud levels decreased in 2013 by 11 per cent from the levels recorded in 2012, the first year on year drop since 2010, but they remain a...
Ecclestone To Face Trial In Germany - 20 January 2014 January 20, 2014
The fact that Bernie Ecclestone is back in the news over the sale of part of his F1 empire is a reminder that company valuations must be transparent. In addition to now facing a trial in Germany in April, the 83-year-old is currently awaiting a...
Forensic Accountants Aid Settlement - 9 January 2014 January 9, 2014
Forensic accountants often only make the headlines when they uncover vast amounts of hidden money, such as when they pulled £45m of assets out of bankrupt former tycoon Scot Younger’s ‘hat’ in his bitter divorce hearing. ...
Demand For Forensic Accountants - 6 January 2014 January 6, 2014
The Financial Times pointed out in an article this month that accounting fraud remains “one of the most critical and prevalent issues facing the financial industry”, and highlighted the need for forensic accountancy in suspected cases and...
Forensic Accountants Stay Ahead Of The Game - 13 December 2013 December 13, 2013
With new apps and software updates coming out all the time, it is no surprise that the world of forensic accounting, which relies increasingly on technology to make its investigations, is also making full use of the advances. A whole range of c...
Forensic Accountants Unearthed Original Anomalies - 6 December 2013 December 13, 2013
It was announced this week that a further charge has been made against five people in connection with alleged fraudulent activity at welfare to work company A4E, where forensic accountants first found “systemic fraud” in 2009. A rout...
Investigative Accountants Find Missing £40m - 3 December 2013 December 13, 2013
An investigative team working on behalf of the ex-wife of former ‘fixer’ Scott Young have found sufficient evidence of a fortune of £45m that a judge was able to award Michelle Young £20m in a ruling that is a culmination of a...
Obvious Assets That Can’t Be Found - 26 November 2013 December 13, 2013
A judge has slammed prosecutors who have been unable to find luxury cars, including a Ferrari Spider and Bentley Continental, despite the fact that, as he said, they are “probably being driven around Mayfair”. Speaking in the confis...
Forensic Accountants Needed To Unravel Complex Finance - 25 November 2013 December 13, 2013
Lawyers acting for the ex-wife of former tycoon Scot Young have had to engage the services of an experienced forensic accountant as the best means of proving that he actually does have the money to pay the settlement she is seeking. Mr Young, w...
Taxman Cracking Down - 12 November 2013 December 13, 2013
With the taxman cracking down increasingly on evasion and fraud, the chances are that more businesses than ever could be caught up in the investigation net, even those that have not necessarily done anything wrong. If this happens to a business...
Online Fraud On The Up - 29 October 2013 October 29, 2013
According to new research more than 230,000 frauds were recorded in England and Wales in the year to June, which represents an increase of more than a fifth on the previous 12 months and a 59 per cent increase in five years. The Office for National S...
Who Else Made Off With the Money? - 22 October 2013 October 22, 2013
When Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in jail for perpetrating one of the biggest frauds in history, he shocked the financial world even more when he claimed that he had acted completely alone. However, US investigators are finally about to ...
What A Fine Messi - 4 October 2013 October 4, 2013
The first appearances of football legend Lionel Messi and his father, Jorge, outside court last week in Barcelona looked more like a political rally than a tax evasion trial, with fans crowding outside the court shouting their support for the Argenti...
Britain Losing Billions Through Fraud - 1 October 2013 October 1, 2013
According to a recent survey, the UK is losing billions of pounds to fraud every year and since the start of the recession the level of fraud has risen by 20 per cent. The survey, which studied fraud data from around the world over the last 15 years,...
SFO’s First Prosecution Under UK Bribery Act - 27 September 2013 September 27, 2013
The first defendants to be prosecuted by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) under the UK?Bribery Act appeared before Westminster Magistrates Court yesterday (September 23). The SFO had charged the four men connected to Sustainable AgroEnergy with conspi...
Evidence For The Defence Required - 9 September 2013 September 9, 2013
News that the serious Fraud Office (SFO) has this week charged Olympus with making misleading statements to an auditor means that the camera and medical equipment firm will have to find evidence in its defence. This means that both sides will almost...
Found Out! - 6 September 2013 September 3, 2013
A judge in the High Court has ordered a divorce settlement to be renegotiated after a London businessman was found to have lied about his wealth when the settlement was originally made. In a landmark ruling, Sir Paul Coleridge ordered the settlement...
Finding the Money - 3 September 2013 August 28, 2013
The National Audit Office has recently announced that it will be publishing a report later this year on the management and enforcement of confiscation orders, which usually requires the services of a forensic accountant to evaluate how much they shou...
Time Serving - 28 August 2013 August 28, 2013
Simon Cowell’s pregnant lover, Lauren Silverman, has just been granted a ‘quickie’ divorce in the States from her husband of 10 years and it is alleged that she waited until their tenth wedding anniversary before telling him that sh...
Forensic Audits For Private Security Firms - 12 August 2013 August 12, 2013
News that private security company G4S has this week withdrawn its bid for a £150m electronic tagging contract with the Government will come as little surprise, as the firm has been accused of overcharging on a previous contract by tens of millions o...
On The Defensive - 22 July 2013 July 22, 2013
Bribery allegations have been in the news this week, with GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) finance chief in China being refused permission to leave the country while an investigation is being carried out into the firm’s Chinese operation, and Form...
Investigators Find Bugs That May Have Cost People’s Freedom - 16 July 2013 July 16, 2013
The Post Office has this week revealed the results of an independent investigation, which proved there were software defects in its Horizon computer system, potentially leading to false claims against sub-postmasters, who, in some cases, went to jail...
Getting To The Bottom Of God’s Bank - 12 July 2013 July 10, 2013
News on June 26 that Pope Francis has set up a commission of inquiry to review the activities of the Vatican bank means that an army of investigators are set to pore over details of its 19,000 accounts, 114 employees and £4.6bn worth of assets. It w...
Mandate Fraud Increasing - 10 July 2013 July 10, 2013
A foiled attempt to defraud a borough council in Wales out of over £2 million, has highlighted the need for businesses to not only be vigilant when it comes to financial transactions with customers and contractors; but to also employ the services of ...
The End Of A Partnership - 27 June 2013 June 27, 2013
The High Court ruled earlier this month that the intellectual property rights for software created within a now-defunct partnership had belonged to the partnership rather than the partner who created it, who was the ex-wife of the other partner. As ...
The Fraud Facts - 6 June 2013 June 6, 2013
The National Forensic Authority has recently published its Annual Fraud Indicator, which reveals that the estimated loss to the UK economy on an annual basis through fraud is £52bn, although the report also points out that the fraud reported is &ldqu...
Hiring A Forensic Accountant In A Divorce Will Pay For Itself - 31 May 2013 May 31, 2013
Considering that divorce is up there with bereavement and moving home as one of the most traumatic things a person can expect to endure in his or her lifetime, not to mention an expensive exercise, it is no wonder that people wonder whether employing...
Experts instructed by Unrepresented Parties (Previously known as litigants in person) - 30 May 2013 May 30, 2013
What difference does an unrepresented party make to the way an expert witness would wish to be instructed and paid? Legal aid cuts introduced in April 2013 will to a great extent remove public funding for civil proceedings i.e. that part of our le...
What’s It Worth? - 29 May 2013 May 29, 2013
The BBC recently reported that campaigners opposed to the high-speed rail line through the Midlands are seeking legal advice on taking the Government to court; a move which acts as a reminder that forensic accountants can not only be used in high-pro...
The Lifestyle To Which One Has Become Accustomed - 20 May 2013 May 20, 2013
Although the Office for National Statistics says that the divorce rate is the lowest it has been since 1977, in 2011, which is the most recent year it has statistics on, 10.8 marriages in 1,000 still ended in divorce and the landmark White v White ca...
Give Me The Bad News First - 26 April 2013 April 26, 2013
There are daily accounts in the news of people who have been found guilty of embezzlement, fiddling their tax, hiding assets in divorce cases or perpetrating fraud on a grand scale, but little or nothing is heard about those who are accused of such c...
Forensic accounting methods save taxpayers over £1bn - 22 April 2013 April 22, 2013
The National Audit Office announced last month that its National Fraud Initiative (NFI) has saved the taxpayer over £1bn through employing forensic accounting methods and tracking cash lost through fraud, overpayment or error. As forensic accountant...
Forensic Accountants Could Check Financial Applications - 12 April 2013 April 12, 2013
As credit rating agency Experian reveals that mortgage fraud jumped by nearly 10 per cent last year, mortgage companies may have to ask forensic accountants to verify applications. According to Experian, 38 in every 10,000 mortgage applications was ...
Fears over benefit fraud - 5 April 2013 April 5, 2013
With the introduction of Universal Credit giving rise to fears of mass benefit fraud, officials suspicious of people would do well to follow the methods of forensic accountants in tracking down offenders. Universal Credit will replace benefits inclu...
Finding The Fiddle - 15 March 2013 March 15, 2013
As two former Crown Prosecution Service employees are convicted of making more than £1m worth of bogus claims for taxi fares, suspicious employers could put their minds at rest – or find out if their concerns are valid – by getting a fore...
Following the Money Trail - 11 March 2013 March 11, 2013
Finding the assets of criminals can be very difficult when people are determined to hide them but the case is made even more difficult when the perpetrators know exactly what they are doing, as in the recent case of two professionals who laundered mo...
Investigative Accountants To Find QC’s Money - 4 March 2013 March 4, 2013
As a high-flying London barrister starts a three-and-a-half year sentence for evading VAT over a twelve year period, investigative accountants must start the lengthy process of finding the cash he withheld from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). Rohan Per...
Divorce Hot Spots - 1 March 2013 March 1, 2013
As the top ten hotspots for divorce in the UK are named, divorcing couples should ensure that they have the number of a good forensic accountant in case their current other half tries to hide any of the joint assets to which they are entitled. Unfor...
Forensic Accountants Find ‘Systemic Fraud’ - 25 February 2013 February 22, 2013
Three more people have been arrested over alleged fraud at welfare-to-work company A4e, highlighting the importance of forensic auditors, who first picked up on anomalies at the company in 2009 during a routine internal audit. The audit unearthed ev...
Forensic Accounting Helps To Convict In Insurance Fraud - 22 Feb 2013 February 22, 2013
A claims management company has been shut down and two fraudsters jailed after a ‘crash for cash’ fraud ring was exposed through the work of the Metropolitan Police and painstaking backroom work on the criminals’ financial dealings....
Investigative Accounting Useful In Due Diligence - 4th February 2013 February 4, 2013
With the news that Caterpillar Chief Executive Doug Oberhelman has accepted blame for overpaying a key acquisition in China because of a “deliberate accounting misconduct”, it would be wise for businesses to remember to bring in the inves...
Following Fraudsters’ Money - 28th January 2013 January 28, 2013
With fraud of some sort or another being in the news almost every day, forensic accountants are being thrust into the limelight, with an article on the practice being used in divorce settlements even making it into the London Evening Standard this we...
Hiding Assets Won’t Work - 21st January 2013 January 21, 2013
A former property tycoon, who attempted to hide his £400m fortune in an attempt to prevent his wife getting a fair share of the assets after their divorce was jailed this week for his “deliberate” refusal to prove how he lost the money. J...
Forensic Investigation Uncovers Business Loans Corruption - 14th January 2013 January 14, 2013
Following a large-scale investigation into corruption, fraud and money laundering at a high street bank, which took over two years to come to fruition, Thames Valley police have charged eight people, including two former senior managers at HBOS. All...
Olympus CEO Called In Forensic Accountants - 4th January 2013 January 4, 2013
The first CEO to turn whistleblower, Michael Woodford, last month published a book on how he eventually called in forensic accountants to get to the bottom of the fraud that threatened his livelihood, health and even at one stage, his life. Mr Woodfo...
Investigative Accountants Going Global - 14th December 2012 December 21, 2012
After As the investigation into wrongdoing over the rigging of the Libor rate continues, international regulators have now uncovered evidence leading to the arrest of two executives at broker RP Martin, while another brokerage has been asked to provi...
Investigative Accounting Brings About First Land Banking Convictions - 14th December 2012 December 14, 2012
After what has been described as a “complex and painstaking investigation” into the accounts, lifestyles and business practices of a couple of conmen, the UK’s first criminal convictions and prison sentences for a land banking fraud...
Investigative Accounting Aids Insurers Beat Cash For Crash Scams December 10, 2012
The Insurance Fraud Bureau’s (IFB) statistics from earlier this month reveal that undetected general insurance claims fraud total £2.1bn a year, adding on average £50 to the annual costs individual policyholders face, each year. Following an i...
Rogue Trader Brought Down By Investigative Accounting December 10, 2012
The recent jailing of former UBS trader Kweku Adoboli for what the police describe as the UK’s biggest ever fraud, is in part due to the internal investigation launched in the summer of 2011 and headed by a forensic accountant. The accountant ...
Litigation Support For Business December 10, 2012
Forensic accounts are often associated with fraud, recovery of assets and finding cash in overseas accounts in criminal cases or locating where spouses have hidden assets in the divorce proceedings of the wealthy. But they are just as vital in scruti...
The Chimera on The Springboard December 10, 2012
Moylan J described the ostensible accuracy of private company valuations as being no more than a chimera whose purpose was to assist the court “in testing the fairness of the proposed outcome”. His view is shared by many judges and even t...
Picture Your Forensic Accountant in the Hot-Tub…. December 10, 2012
...And Ask Yourself How You Feel About the Mental Image You Have Conjured Up. It seems likely that the giving of concurrent evidence by expert witnesses, so-called ‘Hot-tubbing’ is likely to become ever more common, not least because the...
Placing a Value on Free Time in Loss of Earnings Cases December 10, 2012
Consider a self-employed consultant who claims compensation for loss of earnings as a result of a personal injury. Suppose that the Claimant earned £30k pa before the accident and but has earned only £15k after the accident, as evidenced by accountin...
Unprosecuted mortgage fraud in criminal lifestyle confiscations December 10, 2012
R v Waya – the UK Supreme Court judgment Written on 16 November 2012 by David Winch in 10 most popular this month, Case law, Confiscation, Fraud, Prosecutions. The Supreme Court judgment in the case of R v Waya in November 2012 may prove to be...
Proceeds of Crime Act Nets Millions - 7th December 2012 December 10, 2012
Thanks to the diligence of investigative accountants, West Yorkshire Police were able to reveal yesterday (November 6th 2012) that they have increased the amount of cash taken though the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) every year since 2007 and last yea...
The Money Laundering (Amendment) Regulations 2012 by David Winch November 8, 2012
Amendments to the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 came into force on 1 October 2012, but what effect will these have on practitioners? The answer in most cases is likely to be ‘little or none’. It is now five years since th...
Confiscation – available amount November 8, 2012
This article by David Winch article considers what is meant by a defendant’s ‘available amount’ and explains some of the rules the court must follow in determining the ‘available amount’. In confiscation proce...
Money laundering – entering into an arrangement – s328 PoCA 2002 by David Winch October 1, 2012
Prosecutors are sometimes tempted, unwisely, to strain the meaning of statutory provisions in order to charge a defendant. There have been a couple of successful appeals recently against money laundering convictions unders328 Proceeds of Crime ...
Forensic accountant for the high jump in charity bid August 2, 2012
One NIFA member is aiming high in a bid to raise money to help adults with acquired brain injury. Forensic accountant, Roger Isaacs, is set to take one small step for him and one giant leap for the charity, Headway Somerset. Announcing his sponsore...
Local authority to use Proceeds of Crime Act to crack down on rogue landlords August 2, 2012
A London local authority is to crack down on rogue landlords using a law normally seen in fraud cases involving forensic accountancy expert evidence. Newham Council is to apply the Proceeds of Crime Act, originally aimed at stripping drug dealers of...
The use of experts, including forensic accountants, is to be cut back in Family Court July 31, 2012
The use of experts in Family Court, to include forensic accountants, is to be curbed under new UK Justice Ministry proposals. As a report by Mr Justice Ryder on the operation of child proceedings is published, the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, war...
Forensic accountants soon to dip a toe in the evidential 'hot tub' July 31, 2012
Experts have given a broad ‘thumbs up’ to evidential ‘hot tubbing’ in Court in experiments that could soon be introduced in trials involving forensic accountants. The new practice, where experts give evidence in the witness b...
Forensic accountants and other experts consulted in Family Court changes July 31, 2012
Forensic accountants are amongst a wide variety of experts being consulted over proposed changes in the way specialists are used in Family Court. Hot on the heels of an update of the civil experts code, the move is aimed at private law financial rem...
Forensic accountants feature in new experts code July 31, 2012
Forensic accountants are being asked to brush up on a new version of the Experts Protocol published by the Civil Justice Council. The total rewrite, titled ‘Guidance for the instruction of experts to give evidence in civil claims 2012’, ...
Forensic accountants unlikely to be caught on camera May 11, 2012
UK Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke QC has unveiled plans to allow cameras in Court for the first time in British legal history but it seems unlikely that forensic accountants and other experts will appear live on TV. Mr Clarke said the move was aim...
Forensic accountants key to a six million pound ‘fish scam’ confiscation hearing April 24, 2012
Illegal fish catches cost nearly fifty million pounds in lost revenue, according to forensic accountancy evidence being considered by the High Court in Edinburgh. In a case that has become known as the ‘black fish’ scam, prosecut...
Firm mounts fightback after forensic accountants uncover scandal April 22, 2012
Shareholders at global camera giant, Olympus, have voted in a new board after forensic accountants in Japan uncovered a one billion pound scandal involving the hiding of losses going back over twenty years. The company had nominated new memb...
Watch out there’s a forensic accountant about !! April 11, 2012
Judges and forensic accountants appear to be the professionals to watch for when it comes to keeping a close eye on business expenses, according to an article in the Irish Times on the latest consumer gadgets. It describes one expenses track...
Row breaks out over allegations that corruption investigation lacked forensic accountancy evidence March 23, 2012
A row has broken out over allegations by former Irish Prime Minister Bertie A'Hern that an anti-corruption tribunal report “..had been arrived at without deploying the services of a forensic accountant..” The fomer Taoiseach's st...
Recruitment drive unearths the origins of modern forensic accountancy March 19, 2012
The early origins of forensic accountancy have come to light from an unexpected source, the latest recruitment drive by the FBI to boost the number of investigators employed to follow the money and unearth evidence of modern crimes from terrorism to ...
Forensic accountants on standby to figure out allegations of expert witness perjury March 11, 2012
Forensic accountants are set to check out the financial impact of allegations that expert witnesses have made false claims that could add up, said a senior judge, to perjury ‘on an industrial scale’. The allegations come amid a l...
NIFA member gets to grips with money laundering February 14, 2012
In the latest crackdown on suspected money laundering, officers from HM Revenue and Customs have raided a canal boat moored in the centre of Leeds and arrested a sixty four year old man in a joint operation with police and the UK Border Agency. The ...
Forensic accountants to face giving 'paperless' evidence in Court December 4, 2011
The Crown Prosecution Service is to experiment with 'paperless' criminal trials as lawyers in selected Courts are given laptops and electronic tablets. The plan could mean expert witnesses including forensic accountants giving evidence electronicall...
Forensic accountants campaign against Government legal aid fee cuts November 15, 2011
Forensic accountants are among a wide range of experts who have launched a campaign for a judicial review of a Government decision to force through caps on expert fees in publicly-funded cases before the Family Court. The organisation, known as the ...
Witness fees 'row' hits leading UK accountancy firm November 8, 2011
The Government of the Channel Island state of Jersey has claimed that a leading accountancy firm billed inappropriately for the cost of attending a hearing that was set up to examine the costs of a state enquiry into child abuse on the island. Deput...
Isle of Man tax haven more open thanks to forensic accountants October 13, 2011
Forensic accountants, economists and lawyers at the heart of an organisation campaigning against tax havens have praised the Isle of Man Government for their efforts to make money laundering and tax avoidance more difficult. The Tax Justice Network ...
Forensic accountants help uncover theft of charity money October 7, 2011
Howard Rose (c) BBC News A sixty-three year old charity administrator is serving a fifteen month jail term after he admitted stealing more than seventy six thousand pounds from a children's charity. York Crown Court was to...
Forensic accountants in energy price investigation October 4, 2011
UK energy industry regulator Ofgem has called in forensic accountants as it steps up its investigation into pricing by the big six suppliers. The action has been prompted by EDF Energy's decision to put up its gas prices by 15.4 per cent and electri...
Accountancy giant denies allegations that it missed US mortgage fraud October 3, 2011
A leading international accountancy firm is facing allegations that it did not use sufficient forensic skills to detect fraud while auditing an American mortgage company that went under in the US housing crash. Complaints have been filed in a Florid...
UK audit industry faces competition investigation July 31, 2011
After much discussion, consumer watchdog, The Office of Fair Trading, has decided to call for an independent inquiry into the audit industry following criticism of the actions of four of Britain's largest accountancy firms. The OFT started to exam...
MPs criticise the taxman for poor customer service July 31, 2011
Within days of admitting under-ordering paper for tax statements, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs has once again been forced to apologise, this time for poor customer service. The criticism came from the Treasury Select Committee of MPs, who con...
Self assessment paper problems no bar to accurate tax payments July 28, 2011
Around half a million self-employed taxpayers are being given an extra two months to make their July tax payment because of an error by the UK tax authorities. It's been revealed that Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs did not order enough special ...
Expert witness immunity against suit falls in landmark Supreme Court decision March 30, 2011
In a landmark Supreme Court decision, a panel of seven senior judges has decided that expert witnesses, across the criminal, family and civil courts, should no longer have immunity from claims against them for breach of duty in contract or in neglige...
What the NIFA member had to say on the collapse of a Christmas savings company June 23, 2010
When a Christmas savings company collapsed, BBC News turned to NIFA for specialist advice to find out why it happened. Farepak borrowed £34 million pounds from bankers to buy the savings business but three years later sold it for less than...
Prominent former MP declared unfit to face trial over parliamentary expenses charges June 23, 2010
An ex-MP due to stand for trial accused of fiddling her parliamentary expenses has been declared unfit to stand trial. NIFA News has learnt that, according to consultant psychiatrist Philip Joseph, the former member for Luton South, 56 year old Marg...
