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 and then running off with a large share of their wealth. […]
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 record £300m claim brought by the brothers against the SFO. The brothers’ defence team have alleged for […]
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 Palma. Inaki Urdangarin has already been charged with fraud, tax evasion, falsifying documents […]
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 describing the supermarkets’ policy, the Groceries Code Adjudicator seems to see it as a […]
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 £28m this year but it has the power to ask for extra ‘blockbuster’ funding when […]
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 at a much higher rate than in pre-recessionary times. The decrease, however, suggests […]
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 High Court judge’s ruling in a separate £90m civil claim […]
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. However, when two parties fail to reach an agreement in a commercial dispute, which could be anything from a […]
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 regular forensic auditing to keep on top of complex finances. Forensic accountants work in financial hubs across the […]
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 routine internal audit found evidence of staff claiming for putting people forward for jobs that did not exist or […]
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 crimes can use digital forensic methods to prove innocence or secure a conviction, […]
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 owner and they are accused of tax fraud, the first action should be to […]
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, who was jailed earlier this year for “flagrant and deliberate” contempt of […]
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 confiscation case of a jailed drugs baron in London yesterday (November 21), Nicholas Evans asked the prosecutors to […]
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 bitter legal battle over Mr Young’s fortune. However, Mrs Young is said to […]
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 Statistics (ONS) said that a further 316 frauds were […]
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 start a trial in the case of five former employees who are accused […]
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 Argentine superstar. Messi Junior and Senior are jointly charged with defrauding the Spanish state of […]
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, has estimated around £85 billion of the […]
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 conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and conspiracy to furnish false information in relation to the sale of […]
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 certainly engage the services of a team of forensic accountants as part of […]
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 to be ripped up after the man, dubbed a “master of the half […]
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 she wanted to split, in the hopes of a larger financial settlement from their prenuptial agreement. As […]
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 should be, although they also follow the money trail in many other matters.  Confiscation orders, which are […]
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 of pounds. Justice Minister Chris Grayling decided to instigate a forensic audit of […]