Divorce rates likely to rise following Coronavirus outbreak
06 Apr 2020With thousands of married couples and civil partners forced to spend more time with each other, without the ability to go out and see friends and family, divorce rates are likely to rise in the coming weeks and months according to a leading family practitioner. Baroness Shackleton of Belgravia told peers in the House of […]
Businesses and individuals need to take care of Coronavirus fraud
31 Mar 2020The Government has issued a warning to members of the public and businesses about the potential for fraud related to Coronavirus. Police forces, local authorities and organisations across the UK are being inundated with information from companies and individuals about potential scams that are being operated by fraudsters relying on the panic caused by the […]
Corrupt Uzbek ‘Princess’ prison sentence extended
26 Mar 2020Uzbekistan’s Supreme Court has announced that the daughter of the country’s late president, Islam Karimov, will serve a further eight years in prison for corruption and criminal activities estimated to have cost the country a total of more than $2.3 billion. Gulnara Karimova has been found guilty on charges including extortion, racketeering, money laundering and […]
Investigating governance at the National Citizenship Service Trust
26 Mar 2020The Big Society organisation, of which former Prime Minister David Cameron is chief patron, is being investigated for the mismanagement of millions of pounds at the National Citizenship Service Trust (NCST). The investigation in to “governance issues” at the Trust is being carried out by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), which […]
Lessons from the pitch: UEFA vs Manchester City FC
21 Feb 2020An ongoing financial dispute between UEFA and Manchester City FC, which has seen the football club banned from competing in the Champions League for two years and fined £25m, could lead to further investigations according to UEFA. Manchester City FC is facing an ongoing battle with UEFA under the financial fair play (FFP) rules relating […]
US case against former Autonomy CEO Mike Lynch
14 Feb 2020Dr Mike Lynch founded UK firm Autonomy in 1996 with three partners as a spin-off from Cambridge Neurodynamics, a firm specialising in computer-based fingerprint recognition. In 2011, Autonomy was sold to Hewlett Packard (HP) but the US firm swiftly brought a criminal case in the US and a £3.8 billion civil fraud case in the […]
Could shell companies become more transparent?
07 Feb 2020Shell companies have long been the vehicles for hiding assets, being based in tax havens such as the British Virgin Islands (BVI), which are notoriously difficult to investigate. However, the Government is committed to publishing a register of the true owners of overseas entities that hold UK property. Kelly Tolhurst, Minister for Small Business, who […]
One forensic investigation leading to another
31 Jan 2020In this week’s Silent Witness, the forensic scientists try to find out what happened to a family’s money in the 30 years between a man’s death and the present day. Unsurprisingly, they bring in other forensic experts, of the financial variety, to help them uncover the truth. When used as an adjective, the word forensic […]
The ‘Luanda Leaks’ investigation
24 Jan 2020The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), made up of reporters from the Guardian and publications in 20 other countries, recently revealed the findings of their investigation into Isabel dos Santos, known as the ‘Luanda Leaks’. The results of the seven-month forensic investigation suggest that Ms dos Santos, otherwise known as ‘The Princess’ amassed her […]
Forensic investigation leads to arrest at Glasgow College
20 Jan 2020A woman has been arrested and charged following a forensic investigation into an alleged embezzlement at one of the UK’s largest colleges. Forensic investigators were called in to Glasgow College in summer 2019 to conduct an internal investigation after concerns over financial mismanagement were raised. The woman was suspended when suspicions first came to light, […]
Most London Capital & Finance investors will get no compensation
13 Jan 2020The majority of individuals who invested in London Capital and Finance’s (LCF) mini-bond scheme will get no compensation, according to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS has delivered its verdict on whether LCF investors are eligible for compensation after the investment scheme collapsed at the start of last year. Almost 12,000 people, many […]
Offshore accounts trawled in murder enquiry
06 Jan 2020Detectives investigating the suspected murder of a vulnerable woman in Scotland have turned to the Isle of Man’s Financial Intelligence Unit (IoM FIU) in a bid to find her. Carers for Margaret Fleming, who was last seen alive between December 1999 and January 2000, claimed that Margaret was involved in organised crime in Romania. However, […]
Probe launched into Football Association of Ireland
24 Dec 2019An independent report into the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) is to be referred to An Garda Síochána, the police service of the Republic of Ireland. An investigation into four officials of the FAI has been launched after a forensic audit of the FAI’s accounts suggested financial impropriety. The investigation follows revelations earlier this year […]
Assets seized following ‘dirty money’ investigation
09 Dec 2019More than £190 million of assets have been seized from a Pakistani businessman after a settlement in a so-called ‘dirty money’ investigation. The settlement is the result of an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA) into Malik Riaz Hussain, a Pakistani national, whose business is one of the biggest private-sector employers in Pakistan. NCA […]
Jailed for stealing from the firm
02 Dec 2019An office manager who committed fraud and spent her stolen money on designer clothes, expensive holidays, private education and a villa in Spain has been jailed for four and a half years. Susan Anderson siphoned off money from her employer for almost a decade, using a company card to buy handbags and accessories and stealing […]
Not just bank statements
25 Nov 2019Police investigating an alleged international money laundering gang have made a series of arrests in London. In total, 10 suspects were arrested for allegedly being part of ‘a well-orchestrated conspiracy’ to launder an estimated £15.5 million made through Class A drugs and organised immigration crime, transferring it from the UK to Dubai over the last […]
When the evidence stacks up
18 Nov 2019Sheffield Wednesday FC has been charged with breaching EFL (English Football League) rules around financial fair play over the sale of the Hillsborough ground, following an investigation earlier this year. According to a statement from the League, a large number of documents obtained from the club, as part of the investigation, have been reviewed and […]
Proving the provenance of assets
08 Nov 2019A family from the South West has had an £8.1 million property portfolio seized by the National Crime Agency (NCA) after a civil recovery and tax investigation. Although the Davies family has not been convicted of any crime, they were unable to prove the provenance of the seized assets, which the NCA insist were acquired […]
Following the threads
07 Nov 2019Recently leaked documents suggest that the Vatican’s finances are in deficit and that the blame lies largely with the management of its property portfolio. The accusation is that the properties are not rented out at market values and that the portfolio made a loss of €22.6 million in 2018. The leaks are the latest embarrassment […]
Police seize evidence in Vatican financial investigation
04 Nov 2019Italian police have raided the offices of the First Section of the Secretariat of State and the State Financial Information Authority at the Vatican and seized documents and electronic devices as part of an investigation of suspected financial irregularities. The Secretariat of State, the most powerful department in the Vatican, is the nerve centre of […]
Academy heads suspended for splashing the cash
04 Nov 2019An investigation into an Academy Trust that ended up with the Chief Executive being suspended has uncovered lavish spending on gift hampers, alcohol ordered to hotel rooms and unapproved severance payments. According to a statement, both the Chief Executive and Executive Principal of the Thrive Partnership Academy Trust were suspended last year pending an investigation. […]
Trump’s ‘Two sets of books’
04 Nov 2019According to a new report from investigative newsroom ProPublica, Donald Trump reported his business assets to lenders and New York City tax officials in two very different ways, leading to suspicions and allegations of fraud. The documents Mr Trump provided to his lenders appear to be different from those he gave to the US tax […]
Libor: Investigation closed but still questions to answer
04 Nov 2019The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has announced that it is closing its investigation into the alleged rigging of the Libor benchmark rate after a seven-year investigation. According to the SFO, there will be no further charges brought against the 13 individuals charged currently with conspiracy to defraud. However, it appears that the agency was still […]
Potential investigation into Thomas Cook collapse
02 Oct 2019Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom has asked the Insolvency Service to open an investigation into the collapse of travel firm Thomas Cook “as a matter of urgency” and the Official Receiver will now look into the company’s failure and the conduct of its directors. Following her announcement, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said that the directors had […]
Pay back the profits or face jail, HBOS scammers warned
02 Oct 2019Fraudsters jailed for a total of more than 18 years in the Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) fraud scandal have been told to repay the profits they made or face extra time in jail. Michael Bancroft has been ordered to pay back more than £727,000 after being jailed for 10 years in January 2017 following […]