OECD guidelines to impact multinational businesses
24 Jul 2023The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has revised its guidance for multinational businesses to reflect the increasingly complex world in which they operate. The 2023 OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct is the first refresh of the body’s recommendations for 12 years. The updates reflect current social, political and environmental issues, aligning […]
Appeal against Libor rate conviction
19 Jul 2023The first trader to be jailed for “rigging” interest rates over the Libor rate scandal has just won the right to appeal his conviction after an eight-year battle to clear his name. Tom Hayes, a former top-performing UBS and Citigroup employee will be taking his case to the Court of Appeal following a decision by […]
Cross-border “missing trader” investigation
07 Jul 2023Five suspects have been arrested in connection with a €38 million VAT fraud following a Europol-supported investigation. The investigation, code-named Huracán, was led by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Cologne after they discovered a large VAT fraud scheme concerning the international trade of more than 10,000 cars. The investigation started with a report […]
In defence of innocence: The ongoing SNP investigation
05 Jul 2023The investigation into the Scottish National Party’s (SNP) finances has moved on since it began in July 2021, following claims that around £660,000 raised since 2017 for a second independence referendum campaign had been used for unrelated expenses. In April this year, former SNP Chief Executive Peter Murrell, husband of former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, […]
Whistleblowing sparks investigation
23 Jun 2023A police investigation is underway concerning alleged fraud and conspiracy offences carried out by four members of Neyland Town Council and a paid employee. Earlier this month, the Deputy Mayor, Steve Thomas, announced the investigation at an Extraordinary Meeting of the Council, which is located in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The local government monitoring officer was also […]
The cost of employee fraud
20 Jun 2023Recent figures suggest that theft at work in England and Wales has increased by 19 per cent amid the rising cost of living. The research, which was based on police data gathered from a freedom of information request, found that almost 6,000 employees were caught stealing from their workplace in 2022, compared to 5,000 the […]
National crackdown on fraud leads to large seizure of assets
02 Jun 2023More than £6 million of assets were seized or restrained in a month-long, national crackdown on fraud by UK crimefighters. Operation Henhouse, a national fraud intensification campaign, saw police forces, regional organised crime units (ROCUs) and the National Crime Agency (NCA), target a variety of offences, including banking and insurance fraud, as well as money […]
Failure to prevent fraud offence – how forensic accountants can help
25 May 2023The UK is set to introduce a new criminal offence of ‘failure to prevent fraud’ as part of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill. Under the new offence, an organisation will be liable where a specified fraud offence is committed by an employee or agent, for the organisation’s benefit, and the organisation did not […]
Businesses still not reporting fraud, according to latest report
19 May 2023A recent report has found that one in five UK companies fell victim to fraud between 2018 and 2020 but most of them did not report it to the police. According to the report by the Home Office, written in 2020 but only published in early May this year, there are ‘high levels of repeat […]
Post Office Horizon scandal back in the news
12 May 2023The decision to award a £5.7 million contract that will create a new emergency alert system for the Government to Fujitsu has been branded “immoral” by peers. This is because of the scandal around Fujitsu’s Horizon system, which was used by the Post Office between 1999 and 2015 for transactions, accounting and stocktaking. However, it […]
UK’s largest fraud investigation leads to important prosecution
04 May 2023A man has pleaded guilty to running a website that allowed criminals and fraudsters to appear as if they were calling from banks, tax offices and other official bodies in an attempt to defraud victims. Tejay Fletcher ran a website called iSpoof, which allowed criminals to pretend to be workers at banks and tax offices. […]
SNP urged to bring in forensic accountants
26 Apr 2023A former Scottish National Party (SNP) Minister has called for a forensic investigation into the Party’s finances following the resignation of its long-time auditors, Johnston Carmichael. Alex Neil has called on new SNP First Minister, Humza Yousaf to “get to the bottom of this” and then “move on”. Mr Yousaf confirmed that Johnston Carmichael resigned […]
Sharing of wealth in divorce to be reviewed
26 Apr 2023Justice Minister Lord Christopher Bellamy has said that he plans to ask the Law Commission to examine whether the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 needs updating. The current law is, in the words of celebrated divorce lawyer Baroness Shackleton, “hopelessly out of date”. This is hardly surprising, as the rules are 50 years old and were […]
First conviction for eat out to help out fraud
13 Apr 2023A former Keighley councillor has become the first individual to be jailed for making fraudulent claims under the Government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme. Mohammed Ikram was sentenced to two-and-a-half years for making claims totalling £434,073 for eight different food outlets over four weeks. Under the terms of the scheme, food outlets were offered […]
Wealthy individuals targeted by HMRC
11 Apr 2023It has been revealed recently that HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC) Offshore Corporate and Wealthy (OCW) unit opened 25 criminal investigations into wealthy individuals during 2022. The OCW is part of HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service (FIS), which was set up following the Panama Papers leak in 2016. The unit’s brief is to target deliberate high-value […]
Forensic investigation recovers £4 million of smuggled gold
03 Apr 2023Gold worth around £4 million has been reclaimed after being discovered in a private jet at Heathrow Airport in 2019. The National Crime Agency (NCA) seized 104kg of gold, some in bars, others in the shape of hearts cylinders, in June 2019 after the plane stopped at Heathrow en route to Switzerland from the Cayman […]
How internal controls can help to prevent fraud
28 Mar 2023According to the Government, the new Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency (ECCT) Bill will improve transparency among UK companies and other legal entities to strengthen the UK’s business environment. However, news that ministers are planning to exclude small businesses from this anti-fraud legislation is concerning. Ministers and other supporters of tougher measures being incorporated into […]
Seven-year, cross-border investigation sees fraudsters jailed
20 Mar 2023Three fund managers have been jailed for a total of 12 years and three months after committing large-scale fraud amounting to more than $8 million. Following a seven-year investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA), Frederic Marino and Yoshika Ohmura were sentenced to 7 years 6 months and 3 years 6 months respectively, while Aurelien […]
High cost of Covid schemes fraud
10 Mar 2023According to figures released recently by the Insolvency Service, the number of company directors disqualified for abusing Covid loans has more than doubled in the past year. In the current financial year to date, 312 individuals have been struck off for that reason, compared with 141 during the previous year, which equates to almost half […]
Complex university fraud uncovered by forensic investigation
06 Mar 2023The Head of Income and Payments at the University of Brighton, who used his job to steal more than £2.4 million over three decades, has been convicted of fraud by abuse of position, theft by an employee and false accounting. David Hall concealed his fraudulent activity through a complex string of financial cover-ups, which were […]
Crackdown on R&D fraud
21 Feb 2023HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is cracking down on inaccurate and fraudulent Research and Development (R&D) claims, which cost the Government £469 million in the 2021-22 tax year. The initiative, which started last year, has seen the taxman tightening the criteria for tax credit schemes for R&D activities, following concerns over organised criminal attacks on […]
Divorce rate on the rise following introduction of ‘no-fault’ divorce
16 Feb 2023According to recent figures, the Divorce Dissolution and Separation Act 2022 – more commonly known as the ‘no-fault divorce’ act – has resulted in a rise in applications for divorce. Under the Act, introduced in April last year, the process to obtain a divorce or dissolution has become much more straightforward. Unlike the previous legislation, […]
Allegations of fraud and money laundering at Unite
27 Jan 2023An unnamed employee of trade union Unite has been accused of bribery, fraud, money-laundering and tax evasion, according to South Wales Police. The police have formed a specialist investigation group with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to look into the allegations because of the “seriousness and complexity of the case”. The investigation was launched after […]
Forensic accounting reveals links between the Church of England endowment fund and slave trade
18 Jan 2023A report by the Church of England, based on a complex forensic investigation, has found that its £9 billion-plus endowment fund has links to the historic slave trade. The findings show that some of the Church’s investments were made in companies that benefited from slavery, including funds related to Queen Anne’s Bounty – a financial […]
HMRC steps up IHT clawback
18 Jan 2023HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has stepped up its investigations into those it suspects of underpaying Inheritance Tax (IHT). Last year it clawed back £326 million – a 28 per cent increase on the previous 12 months. According to figures released this month under a Freedom of Information (FoI) request, HMRC opened 4,258 enquires into […]