A lavish lifestyle
04 Apr 2017Former head of the notorious Adams family, Terry Adams, has just had his appeal against a compensation order of almost £700,000 quashed. Mr Adams said he had insufficient funds to pay a debt to the Government of £651,611 but a judge in the Court of Appeal said there was a strong case that the former […]
Keeping the money clean
27 Mar 2017One of the problems criminals have is ‘cleaning’ the money they get for their nefarious activities. Therefore, they have to come up with increasingly inventive ways to launder it and there is currently a case involving Russia that suggests UK banks were involved in the clean-up activity. Dubbed the “Laundromat” case, it involves allegations that […]
Following the Money
20 Mar 2017BBC 4’s series Follow the Money is back on our screens for a second series. The crime thriller sheds light on the individuals trying to uncover economic crime, and in the latest instalment the forensic investigators were asked to unravel dirty dealings at a bank. One of the team was alerted to the potential scam […]
Fraud at highest point in five years
10 Mar 2017Recent research has found that there was a 32 per cent increase in the total value of reported fraud and a 35 per cent increase in the average value of reported fraud in 2016. However, the report comes with the caveat that reported fraud is the tip of the iceberg, with many firms preferring to […]
Investigating beneficial ownership and other assets
03 Mar 2017Dubbed “Africa’s youngest billionaire”, Ashish Thakkar has recently lost a ruling over the ownership of family assets in his divorce case. Mr Thakkar, who claims to have assets of just £445,532, says he has no control over Mara Group Holdings Ltd and Inspire Group Holdings and that the shares are held by his family. However, […]
Criminal investigation follows Charity Commission findings
20 Feb 2017Former Charlton Athletic footballer Richard Rufus is being investigated by City of London Police after a Charity Commission report found “mismanagement” at Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC). Mr Rufus had already been branded a “fraudster” by a specialist civil court judge in 2015 after running a Ponzi-style scheme between 2007 and 2011 and losing or […]
Investigation in the fast lane
13 Feb 2017A spokeswoman for the Insolvency Service has told MPs that the “fast-tracked” investigation into the collapse of BHS may last until April 2019 because of the sheer amount of data compiled. According to Sarah Albon, the authority has now gathered all the evidence together and is working with forensic accountants to analyse it. In total, […]
10-year investigation uncovers multi-million pound fraud
03 Feb 2017An investigation described as the “longest and most complex case in the history of Thames Valley Police” has resulted in six people being convicted of a multi-million pound fraud. The five men, one of whom was a senior banker, and one woman were found guilty of corruption, fraudulent trading and money-laundering offences having profited from […]
Nothing beats evidence
23 Jan 2017Following news that Rolls-Royce has paid £671m this week to UK and US authorities to settle allegations of corruption, the Financial Times came up with a classic headline – ‘Fear the secret agent less than the accountant’. This may seem a slightly odd thing to say about the world of business espionage. However Rolls-Royce found […]
Individuals charged by DoJ
13 Jan 2017Although the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) closed its investigation into alleged manipulation of the foreign exchange market last March due of insufficient evidence, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) has now indicted three UK-based former forex traders for the same crime. In the latest development in a collusion investigation that in 2015 led to five […]
Global Libor investigation
06 Jan 2017Investigators from the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) interviewed the head of Barclays in Japan, Mark Dearlove, last month as part of its investigation into Libor rigging; a sign that more senior executives are coming under scrutiny in the global probe. According to the FT, which broke the news, two other Japanese executives are also part […]
Financial investigator praised
23 Dec 2016A financial investigator who tracked down almost £185,000 conned out of a 91-year-old woman with Parkinson’s disease by three so-called ‘carers’ was praised by a judge at the group’s confiscation hearing. The three women, who had no qualifications or training to deal with Parkinson’s, were charging the old lady up to £40,000 a month and […]
Former Tesco executive avoids charges
16 Dec 2016The former Commercial Director of Tesco, Kevin Grace, has been told this week that he will not face charges from the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) as it continues its investigation into a £326m hole in the supermarket giant’s accounts. The announcement comes two weeks after Tesco’s former Chief Executive, Philip Clarke, was told he would […]
Not such a beautiful game
12 Dec 2016HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has confirmed it is investigating the tax affairs of dozens of football clubs, players and agents for ‘potential irregularities’. According to a spokeswoman for the Revenue, 43 players, eight agents and 12 leagues clubs are under investigation around the issue of image rights. The news comes as Manchester United’s manager, […]
Looking for the evidence
02 Dec 2016The former Finance Director of UK software group Autonomy has been accused by US prosecutors of perpetrating an elaborate financial fraud designed to ‘deceive investors, analysts and auditors’. Sushovan Hussain is alleged to have been the mastermind behind a cover-up of the real state of Autonomy’s finances before it was acquired by Hewlett Packard (HP), […]
Laundry basket set to shrink
25 Nov 2016The National Crime Agency (NCA) says that up to £90bn is laundered through the UK each year, which the Government is aiming to stop with the Criminal Finance Bill currently going through Parliament. Under the new laws, hundreds of British properties suspected of belonging to people who made their money through dubious, if not downright […]
The Pensions Regulator’s “complex investigation”
18 Nov 2016News emerged this week that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has allegedly arrested Dominic Chappell – the businessman who bought BHS for £1 from billionaire tycoon Sir Philip Green. The alleged arrest came on the eve of a High Court deadline for him to provide evidence about why £6million is missing from BHS’s balance […]
Panama Papers investigation leading to further reviews
11 Nov 2016Following the disclosure earlier this year of the ‘Panama Papers’, Chancellor Philip Hammond has revealed this week that the financial affairs of a further 43 wealthy individuals are under review. When the details first came to light, then Prime Minister David Cameron announced the creation of a cross-agency taskforce to analyse all the information. This […]
Investigating higher earners
07 Nov 2016The National Audit Office (NAO) has published a report on enquiries by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) into ‘super-rich’ taxpayers and identified how these people are investigated. According to the NAO, one in three of the richest people in the UK are under “formal enquiry” at any one time by the taxman and there is […]
Stirring up a hornet’s nest
31 Oct 2016Watford FC has confirmed that the club has launched an internal investigation into an alleged fabricated financial document supplied to the English Football League (EFL) and that it is taking the matter “extremely seriously”. The Premier League side is alleged to have supplied a forged letter from HSBC bank to the footballing authorities and could […]
Date set for Tesco fraud trial
21 Oct 2016A date has been set for three former Tesco executives to appear in court to face charges of fraud and false accounting in relation to a scandal at the retail giant that left a ‘black hole’ of up to £326m in its accounts. All three men are charged with one count of fraud by abuse […]
SFO expected to make swift move in Airbus inquiry
18 Oct 2016The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is expected to ‘move quickly” in the criminal inquiry into Airbus’s use of third-party agents to win commercial jet sales. The case involves discrepancies over the amount of agents’ fees disclosed in applications for export support, or missing names of third parties – which in some cases date back several […]
Forensic Accountants don’t suffer from cold feet
10 Oct 2016Most people in the UK are aware that iconic TV series Cold Feet is back on our screens almost 20 years after it started and features the same characters, who are now older but not necessarily wiser. In fact, one of the gang, management consultant David, appears to have fallen foul of the bribery laws […]
Knowing where the bodies are buried
30 Sep 2016News emerged this week that notorious gangster, John ‘Goldfinger’ Palmer, who was once described as Britain’s richest criminal, had been under surveillance for 16 years, even while in prison. Never far from complex financial deals, Palmer was due to stand trial in Spain on charges of fraud, money laundering and firearm possession at the time […]
Whistleblower sparks forensic investigation
23 Sep 2016A whistleblower at supermarket giant Tesco sparked a criminal investigation into alleged false accounting after a new Chief Executive took over two years ago. This has led to three former directors being accused this week of acting dishonestly for personal gain. The former Finance Director and former Managing Director of Tesco UK and the former […]