No smoke without fire?
05 Jun 2015That’s what the old saying would lead us to believe but it’s not always the case, of course. It’s what Greg Dyke is saying about Sepp Blatter’s resignation as President of FIFA this week and it’s often said when circumstances point to a particular conclusion. However, circumstantial evidence is not enough to convict someone of […]
No stone left unturned
04 Jun 2015Reports of the various scandals in the news at the moment, from FIFA to the Keydata ‘death bonds’ saga, are the culmination of, in some cases, years of painstaking investigation into the financial dealings of the various bodies involved. All of these cases started with allegations, rumours and beliefs that something was wrong until enough […]
Forensic investigation uncovered the extent of spot market manipulation
22 May 2015A statement from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) revealed this week that its Washington Field Office, in collaboration with partners abroad, particularly the UK’s regulatory law enforcement authorities, uncovered manipulation of the foreign exchange market on a massive scale. The investigation took 19 months, during which time the FBI and its partners reconstructed the […]
A sad case for forensic accountants
18 May 2015As the general population ages and dementia and general sickness become more prevalent amongst the elderly, it is unfortunately likely that there will be more cases such as the one concerning the man who defrauded his dying grandfather out of his life savings. In this sad case, a Doncaster man, who had power of attorney […]
Claim and counter claim
11 May 2015The long-running saga of the acquisition of UK firm Autonomy by technology giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) has taken a new turn this week after new details of HP’s $5.1bn (£3.6bn) lawsuit have emerged in a court filing. In the documents, HP accuses two former Autonomy executives of artificially boosting the company’s revenue in a deliberate bid […]
Quantifying loss
05 May 2015The shocking news from Nepal and the extent of the devastation and loss of life the earthquake has served is a stark reminder that human beings are at the mercy of ‘acts of god’ such as this. We are lucky in this country that we don’t suffer from such extremes but businesses and individuals are […]
Forensic accountants find flaws
27 Apr 2015Forensic accountants engaged to investigate the treatment of sub-postmasters by the Post Office have found that the Post Office failed to properly investigate the cause of cash shortfalls in post offices around the country before launching proceedings for false accounting, theft and fraud. The firm also said that the Post Office had withheld vital documents […]
Major investigations
17 Apr 2015As news comes of the “extremely severe” sentence handed to Nina Ricci perfume heir, Arlette Ricci by a Paris court for tax fraud, the French authorities have announced that they are opening criminal investigations into HSBC following the so-called Swissleaks scandal. Ms Ricci was sentenced to a year in prison and ordered to pay a […]
The potential to avoid court
13 Apr 2015The battle between IT giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) and the former directors of Autonomy, the company it bought in 2011 on the basis that the business was thriving, has taken another turn after HP has signed an agreement with Autonomy’s auditors to avoid a court case. The ‘standstill’ agreement is seen as a signal that […]
Fraud and Forensic Accounting
30 Mar 2015News that Tesco is likely to be sued by another group of shareholders over the retailer’s £263m profit mis-statement will almost certainly lead to further forensic investigations on the part of their legal team. The investors are demanding compensation from Tesco following the slump in its share price last autumn. It is likely that these […]
Accounting for food fraud
23 Mar 2015Although more often associated with white-collar fraud, a leading academic argues that forensic accounting can track food fraud and should be used by the UK Food Crime Unit as a matter of routine. Lisa Jack, Professor of Accounting at the University of Portsmouth contends that food fraud is a fraud issue like any other and […]
Landmark ruling for spouses of wealthy partners
27 Feb 2015In a recent landmark ruling, the ex-wife of a wealthy equine vet will have her personal maintenance payments stopped and was told to get a job and not expect to live off her husband for the rest of her life. In addition, the judge said that divorcees with children aged over seven should work for […]
Low level fraud increasing
23 Feb 2015New research has found that, while the total value of reported fraud cases fell to its lowest level in more than a decade last year, the volume of cases has risen to its highest level with lower level crime on the increase. However, the incidence of fraud may be even higher than the numbers suggest, […]
Protecting Third Parties
13 Feb 2015With hearts and flowers everywhere at the moment, one could be forgiven for thinking we are a nation of romantics but the romance can quickly wear off when someone is unwittingly caught up in crime and has their assets frozen or faces a bill from the courts through no fault of their own. At that […]
Tesco to be investigated
09 Feb 2015The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA), which is set to be handed new powers to impose penalties on large retailers of up to one per cent of their annual UK turnover, has announced this week that supermarket giant Tesco is to be investigated over its relationships with suppliers following allegations of bullying and delayed payments. According […]
Union leaders push for forensic investigation into business failure
02 Feb 2015Union leaders have called for a forensic investigation into the collapse of parcel delivery firm City Link after the company, which had 2,727 employees across the UK, called in administrators after years of “substantial losses”. City Link entered administration towards the end of December, with many workers finding out they were being let go on […]
Autonomy case dropped by SFO
23 Jan 2015The Serious Fraud Office has dropped its investigation into the sale of Autonomy to Hewlett Packard, saying that, on the information available, there is little realistic prospect of a conviction. However, HP is determined to continue with a separate case being brought in the US. The case centred on the sale of software firm Autonomy […]
An inside job
16 Jan 2015New research has found that more than 80 per cent of frauds are committed by someone inside the firm, such as employees or subcontractors, rather than by an unknown person. Studies show that almost half of the most frequent types of insider activity are unauthorised disclosures of sensitive information, which could help outside parties gain […]
Tell-tale signs
12 Jan 2015With the holiday period firmly behind us, people are back at work and dreaming of the sun but could there be someone in the office who looks like they are on a permanent vacation and yet earns no more than their co-workers? If so, they might be perpetrating a fraud. Fraud costs businesses millions a […]
New forensic accountants to provide ‘fresh eyes’
22 Dec 2014The ex-wife of the late, bankrupt property tycoon Scot Young, who tragically fell to his death earlier this month, is looking for a “fresh pair of eyes” to search for the millions she is convinced were hidden during the couple’s divorce. Michelle Young accused her ex-husband of stashing away more than £400m during their bitter […]
Forensic investigation uncovered scale of Ponzi fraud
15 Dec 2014Three of Bernard Madoff’s aides were given prison sentences this week for their part in helping the Ponzi scheme fraudster steal as much as $20bn from investors. Daniel Bonventre, who ran Madoff’s broker-dealer unit for almost 40 years, was sentenced to 10 years behind bars earlier this week for helping to run the fraud but […]
Accounting differences, not fraud
08 Dec 2014There have been further developments in the long-running legal battle between Autonomy, the UK firm that was bought by Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011, and its buyer, with Autonomy’s founder citing a document he says shows differences in accounting standards, not fraud. Mike Lynch has said this week that allegations by HP of a £3bn fraud […]
Defence against too much
02 Dec 2014Although by any standards a divorce settlement of more than £337m could be judged a good result, what is being hailed as the largest settlement ever seen in a British court is actually less than the wife’s initial claim thanks to forensic investigators determining the actual amount of assets in dispute. The divorce of Sir […]
Investigation takes five years
21 Nov 2014The former Chief Executive of failed retailer JJB Sports has been convicted this week of a million pound fraud, following a five-year investigation, having been found guilty of receiving undeclared and dishonest cash payments from suppliers. Christopher Ronnie was convicted of three offences of fraud by failing to disclose his interests in JJB Sports contracts […]
Rank No Barrier To Forensic Investigation
18 Nov 2014A Spanish court said last week that it would uphold charges of tax fraud against Cristina de Borbon, the sister of King Felipe VI of Spain in an enquiry into corruption, paving the way for an unprecedented criminal trial. However, the High Court of Palma de Majorca added that it would drop charges of money […]