Money trail of a ghost

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 he can pay for his crimes. One of the problems investigators faced […]

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New Malaysian government to investigate suspicious money trail

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 leader of Malaysia’s newly elected Pakatan Harapan coalition government, Anwar Ibrahim, has called for an investigation into a series […]

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Hard to hide

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 ordered by a High Court judge to split his assets down the middle. However, Mr Akhmedov […]

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Investigation into spending

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 years in 2006, has spent more than £200,000 on flights alone, despite claiming […]

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Forensic investigation concluded

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 contract that was awarded by the energy company to a firm called Enzen, where Mr Scarsella’s son is Business Operations […]

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Investigation uncovers eight-year fraud

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 was set in motion. John Briers was found guilty at Newcastle Crown Court of paying 60 cheques […]

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Forensic accountants hit the small screen

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 in her negotiations to represent him. Unfortunately for him, his […]

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Links found in forensic investigation

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 Gangsters’ Dirty Money Exposed, researchers claim that a Ukrainian crime gang used offshore firms in British […]

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Artificial intelligence – will it help or hinder the world of fraud?

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 complex documents in its recent case against Rolls-Royce, while HSBC is allegedly investing money in “bringing in robots” to help […]

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Investigation into Carillion directors

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. Richard Adam and Zafar Khan, who had both been Group Finance Director of the collapsed firm, will be scrutinised […]

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Investigations that led to closure

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 deterioration” and “the financial consequences and irregular actions by some Panamanian authorities” had caused irreparable […]

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Independent review into Co-op collapse

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 the Treasury Committee, Nick Morgan, has welcomed the “hugely overdue” review and has asked for it to be completed in […]

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Groceries Code Adjudicator launches financial investigation

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 relating to de-listing and the introduction of benchmarking and depot quality control charges over a period covering early 2016 to […]

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The first Unexplained Wealth Orders

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 Crime Agency (NCA) has secured UWOs, which came into force on 31 January this year, to look at […]

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Postmasters secure funding to bring class action lawsuit

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 accounting system called Horizon. The system showed branches to be in financial deficit, which led to […]

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What a forensic investigation means

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 evidence had been purely circumstantial.  This might seem an odd thing […]

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War on illicit wealth

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 behind these orders is to help curb the UK’s status as a haven for ill-gotten gains.  […]

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Switzerland top of the money laundering world

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”.  This is the second year running that Switzerland has topped the list entitled Financial Secrecy Index – 2018 and […]

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50 per cent is worth finding

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 of the wives interviewed was Michelle Young, ex-wife of Scot Young, who died in mysterious circumstances during the two-year […]

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Sharp rise in bank card fraud reported in latest industry survey

A sharp rise in card fraud has been reported in the latest survey of bank customers by a leading payment system company. According to the survey of over four thousand people across fourteen countries by ACI Worldwide, one third of UK customers, that's an estimated fourteen and a half million people, have been a victim […]

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Long and complex investigation

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 Crime Unit’s Regional Fraud Team (SEROCU), who said that it began in 2014. As a spokeswoman for SEROCU said […]

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McMafia shows us how to hide the money

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 also shows how financial investigators are able to peel back the layers of offshore secrecy. […]

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Vatican boosts its financial investigation unit

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 Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (Moneyval) has released a progress report on the Vatican’s efforts. It commended […]

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Robust response requires forensic investigators

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 watchdog, it has “invested significantly” in the resources of its enforcement division to enhance its speed and […]

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