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 proceedings for false accounting, theft and fraud. The firm also said that the Post Office had withheld vital documents […]
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 so-called Swissleaks scandal. Ms Ricci was sentenced to a year in prison and ordered to pay a […]
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 to avoid a court case. The ‘standstill’ agreement is seen as a signal that […]
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 demanding compensation from Tesco following the slump in its share price last autumn. It is likely that these […]
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 University of Portsmouth contends that food fraud is a fraud issue like any other and […]
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 with children aged over seven should work for […]
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 fraud may be even higher than the numbers suggest, […]
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 courts through no fault of their own. At that […]
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 relationships with suppliers following allegations of bullying and delayed payments. According […]
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 Link entered administration towards the end of December, with many workers finding out they were being let go on […]
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 case being brought in the US. The case centred on the sale of software firm Autonomy […]
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 activity are unauthorised disclosures of sensitive information, which could help outside parties gain […]
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 perpetrating a fraud. Fraud costs businesses millions a […]
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 divorce. Michelle Young accused her ex-husband of stashing away more than £400m during their bitter […]
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 years, was sentenced to 10 years behind bars earlier this week for helping to run the fraud but […]
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 accounting standards, not fraud. Mike Lynch has said this week that allegations by HP of a £3bn fraud […]
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 investigators determining the actual amount of assets in dispute. The divorce of Sir […]
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. Christopher Ronnie was convicted of three offences of fraud by failing to disclose his interests in JJB Sports contracts […]
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 Court of Palma de Majorca added that it would drop charges of money […]
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 general terms, seven key differences between Crown Court trials and confiscation proceedings. click here
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 member of The Academy of Experts.
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 to brand her former husband as “cruel, spiteful and wicked”, with her barrister claiming […]
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, £13m more than was estimated a month ago. The investigation has revealed the escalation in the illusory profits that has taken […]
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 handed in his resignation shortly before the massive hole in the profits was discovered, while the audit committee […]
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, meaning that a criminal case is likely to proceed against the […]