Artificial intelligence – will it help or hinder the world of fraud?
16 Apr 2018In 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 […]
Investigation into Carillion directors
06 Apr 2018The 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 […]
Investigations that led to closure
26 Mar 2018News 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 […]
Independent review into Co-op collapse
16 Mar 2018Following 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 […]
Groceries Code Adjudicator launches financial investigation
09 Mar 2018Chief 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 […]
The first Unexplained Wealth Orders
07 Mar 2018A 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 […]
Postmasters secure funding to bring class action lawsuit
26 Feb 2018Hundreds 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 […]
What a forensic investigation means
19 Feb 2018A 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 […]
War on illicit wealth
12 Feb 2018Earlier 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. […]
Switzerland top of the money laundering world
02 Feb 2018A 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 […]
50 per cent is worth finding
26 Jan 2018The 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 […]
Sharp rise in bank card fraud reported in latest industry survey
26 Jan 2018A 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 […]
Long and complex investigation
16 Jan 2018A “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 […]
McMafia shows us how to hide the money
05 Jan 2018The 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. […]
Vatican boosts its financial investigation unit
22 Dec 2017The 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 […]
Robust response requires forensic investigators
18 Dec 2017The 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 […]
Financial details of divorce to be heard in new courts
11 Dec 2017The 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 cases where there are disputes over money to be heard separately from more common […]
Judge sides with husband in dispute over matrimonial assets
27 Nov 2017In 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 case, the husband claimed that he had made more of a contribution than the […]
Former Autonomy CFO loses bid to escape fraud charges
21 Nov 2017The 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 company’s value after uncovering what it alleged were accounting irregularities that had been perpetrated by Autonomy’s former management team. The Serious […]
Joint FBI and UK investigation launched
13 Nov 2017The 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 concerns raised by MP Peter Hain to the FCA, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the National Crime Agency. […]
Forensic accountants investigating Horizon computer system
07 Nov 2017A 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 installed the Horizon system to run the accounts of local post offices. By 2009, the […]
Potential investigations into offshore usage
02 Nov 2017Following 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 hack happened last year, HMRC is said to have known about it for some time, […]
Detailed investigation clears couple
27 Oct 2017Many 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 recently by North Yorkshire Police releasing a man and woman without charge following a “detailed financial investigation”. A Charity Commission investigation […]
Michael McIndoe breaks his silence over alleged fraud
17 Oct 2017Ex-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 was first accused back in 2012 when Scotland Yard investigated him for what was then being […]