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UK government expects 5% annual increase in fraud if nothing done
In line with a long-term behavioural trend, the UK Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) estimates that fraud will increase 5% a year without action to contain it.
Online Published Date:
23 July 2024
Appeared in issue:
October/November 2024 - 23 July 2024
Undertow - European Public Prosecutor battles criminals and for budget
While Laura Kövesi, the first European Public Prosecutor, is used to fighting hard, not just in court but in the political space that offices like hers inhabit, frustration over the resourcing limits she faces was evident in a recent meeting with members of the European Parliament. Sara Lewis reports, from Brussels, on the pressure Kövesi and her team face to do more with less than they need.
Online Published Date:
24 July 2024
Appeared in issue:
October/November 2024 - 23 July 2024
Europol flags fragmented, multiple cyber threats in annual assessment
Law enforcement action against dark web marketplaces and ransomware groups has created instability in the criminal world, through the resulting splintering of gangs, European Union (EU) police agency Europol has warned.
Online Published Date:
25 July 2024
Appeared in issue:
October/November 2024 - 23 July 2024
English courts tackle evolving asset recovery challenges
The use of complex cross-border structures and new technologies by fraudsters means that legal tools to identify and secure recoverable funds must constantly be reinterpreted. Rebecca Hume of Howard Kennedy details case law developments pertaining to service of proceedings, disclosure orders and the 'responsible persons liability principle'.
Online Published Date:
26 July 2024
Appeared in issue:
October/November 2024 - 23 July 2024
EU currents - EPPO warns on Austrian law threat to investigations
The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) has spoken out against a proposed Austrian law it believes could undermine its ability to probe transnational and national crime by preventing its teams from seizing data in evidence against offenders.
Online Published Date:
26 July 2024
Appeared in issue:
October/November 2024 - 23 July 2024
Break point - encryption post quantum
Computing power grows exponentially, seemingly relentlessly, so cracking the most secure codes currently in use is a matter of not much more time; in fact, it may have happened, unbeknownst to any but a few in one or more governments, which is disturbing enough, and that's before the enrichment potential for fraudsters. Paul Cochrane looks to the next digital arms race, already begun.
Online Published Date:
30 July 2024
Appeared in issue:
October/November 2024 - 23 July 2024
UK financial incentives for whistleblowers on the horizon?
A Whistleblowing Bill from the last government is currently shelved, but consensus is building among key decision-makers that offering financial rewards to those who speak up when they see wrongdoing may enhance enforcement outcomes in the United Kingdom. Fred Saugman of WilmerHale provides an update and urges that paying whistleblowers will only be effective as part of a wider package of reforms.
Online Published Date:
31 July 2024
Appeared in issue:
October/November 2024 - 23 July 2024
Privinvest ordered to pay Mozambique US$825m over 'tuna bonds' fraud
A UK High Court judge has condemned Emirati-Lebanese shipbuilder Privinvest over its role in the 'tuna bonds' corruption scandal that landed Mozambique with US$2 billion in hidden debts, crashing its previously buoyant economy in 2016 when it defaulted on an IMF loan.
Online Published Date:
02 August 2024
Appeared in issue:
October/November 2024 - 23 July 2024
SFO charges five ex Glencore employees over West African bribery
The UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has charged five former employees of Swiss commodities giant Glencore, including ex global head of the oil division, Alex Beard, with bribery in West Africa from 2007 to 2014.
Online Published Date:
06 August 2024
Appeared in issue:
October/November 2024 - 23 July 2024
High variance in APP fraud reimbursement rates at major UK banks, finds regulator
Some British banks are still failing to reimburse a high proportion of their customers who fall victim to authorised push payment (APP) fraud, under the voluntary scheme that will be replaced on 7 October by mandatory repayment, the UK Payment Systems Regulator says initslatest annual report.
Online Published Date:
13 August 2024
Appeared in issue:
October/November 2024 - 23 July 2024
Crypto exchange FTX ordered to pay customers US$12.7 billion in wake of fraud
Digital currency customers will continue to be subject to fraud if new regulatory tools are not introduced, claimed the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as the organisation won a case ordering cryptocurrency exchange FTX to pay US$12.7 billion to victims of fraud by senior executives.
Online Published Date:
13 August 2024
Appeared in issue:
October/November 2024 - 23 July 2024
PwC fined UK£15m for not blowing whistle on suspected fraud at LCF
Britain's Financial Conduct Authority has fined auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) UK£15 million (US$19.5 million) for failing to report suspicions that its client London Capital & Finance plc (LCF) might be involved in fraud
Online Published Date:
20 August 2024
Appeared in issue:
October/November 2024 - 23 July 2024
One in four UK adults commit at least one economic crime a year, research indicates
A survey of 1,000 UK adults, in 2023, by the University of Portsmouth, found that 26% had committed one or more economic crimes in a year. The 17% of respondents who engaged in more than one economic crime averaged four annually.
Online Published Date:
22 August 2024
Appeared in issue:
October/November 2024 - 23 July 2024
KPMG recommends public sector fraud focus as UK court case numbers rise
A proactive approach to tackling public sector fraud in the UK could yield benefits in detecting and fighting all such financial crime, accounting network KPMG argues in its latest Fraud Barometer report.
Online Published Date:
04 September 2024
Appeared in issue:
October/November 2024 - 23 July 2024
UK lost £5.5bn to tax evasion in 2023, 81% by small businesses - HMRC
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has no specific strategy to cut tax evasion, which it estimates cost UK£5.5 billion (US$7.2 billion) in 2023, equivalent to 0.7% the total theoretical liabilities, according to a National Audit Office (NAO) report. Instead, HMRC prefers to flex its resources, allocating where it sees the risk, to prevent the tax gap from increasing.
Online Published Date:
09 September 2024
Appeared in issue:
October/November 2024 - 23 July 2024
Swiss court orders ex-PetroSaudi executives to repay US$1.8bn (plus interest) defrauded from 1MDB fund
A landmark ruling in a Swiss courthas clawed back the more than US$1.8 billion two dual nationals defraudedfrom the graft-wracked Malaysian investment fund, 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
Online Published Date:
14 September 2024
Appeared in issue:
October/November 2024 - 23 July 2024
Character reference - profiling use to deduce
Like it or not, we have much in common, which applies to malefactors as a population cohort and can prove helpful to screen out dishonest prospective employees or, at least, identify them once taken on. Keith Nuthallchecks the latest research on traits for deceit.
Online Published Date:
16 September 2024
Appeared in issue:
October/November 2024 - 23 July 2024
Trade traps - how to lose on commodities
Sham transactions, non-existent goods, corruption to collusion - global commodities markets offer boundless opportunity for illegal gain through dishonest dealings. Keith Nuthallruns through a catalogue of costly commercial 'plays'.
Online Published Date:
16 September 2024
Appeared in issue:
October/November 2024 - 23 July 2024
Busting ghosts of identity theft and Covid-19 loan fraud
The misappropriation of a pandemic small business loan led to an intricate pursuit through the streets of New York City. Harry Lidsky of 4DISS recounts the steps taken to pin true identities on the perpetrators and bring them to justice.
Online Published Date:
17 September 2024
Appeared in issue:
October/November 2024 - 23 July 2024
A multifaceted response to insider threats
The growing risk of insider fraud demands the right combination of organisational commitment along with customised human and technological solutions to combat threats. Sandra Desautels, Brittany Sklute and Gabby MacKay of Guidehouse elaborate on where vulnerabilities lie and how to develop a comprehensive protection programme.
Online Published Date:
17 September 2024
Appeared in issue:
October/November 2024 - 23 July 2024
A closer look at fraud rationalisation
Counter-fraud practitioners are well-conversant with the Fraud Triangle but may less often consider the varying ways that individuals committing financial crime engage with its three elements. Stephanie Mongiello of the University of North Texas at Dallas discusses how different types of fraudster relate to rationalisation and strategies for organisations to protect against them.
Online Published Date:
17 September 2024
Appeared in issue:
October/November 2024 - 23 July 2024
Using ChatGPT's document analysis for new insights and productivity gains
Unlock new levels of productivity in fraud examinations with Artificial Intelligence-driven tools. Mark Nigrini of West Virginia University, USA explores how ChatGPT can revolutionise document analysis, from summarising and comparing texts to searching for principal information and conducting sentiment analysis.
Online Published Date:
17 September 2024
Appeared in issue:
October/November 2024 - 23 July 2024
Free-riding - AI v IP
Artificial intelligence is nothing without the data it needs to 'learn', which surely belongs to someone, or rather to many. Those owners, waking up to the risk that their intellectual property is being scraped for free by AI model developers, are starting to assert their rights. Laura Syrett considers the challenges confronting both legislators and litigants.
Online Published Date:
18 September 2024
Appeared in issue:
October/November 2024 - 23 July 2024
Cross-border currents - Romania finds most fraud in EU spending programmes
Romania uncovered €419 millions' worth of fraud associated with European Union (EU) spending programmes in 2023, detailed reports issued by the European Commission have revealed.
Online Published Date:
18 September 2024
Appeared in issue:
October/November 2024 - 23 July 2024
Corruption flagged in £15.3 billion of UK Covid contracts - TI
A Transparency International UK review of 5,000 British government contracts awarded during the Covid 19 pandemic has found at least three red flags for corruption in 135 high-risk projects, together worth some UK£15.3 billion (US$20.2 billion), mainly for personal protective equipment (PPE) and other medical supplies.
Online Published Date:
19 September 2024
Appeared in issue:
October/November 2024 - 23 July 2024