A Blackpool nightclub owner and his accountant have been convicted for their involvement in a £4.9 million tax fraud.

Paul Kelly, who owned a string of bars and pubs across the North West, evaded paying millions in tax, with help from his crooked accountant John Parry.

Kelly submitted fraudulent VAT returns and deducted tax and National Insurance payments from employees’ salaries but failed to pay it to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Kelly, 63, splashed hundreds of thousands of pounds from the proceeds of his crimes on luxury items, including a yacht, expensive Bentley and Rolls Royce cars, a £100,000 watch and a £2,000 Versace dining service set.

Zoe Gascoyne, Deputy Director in HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service, said:

“Paul Kelly abused his position of trust to steal from clients and staff members, and John Parry assisted him in further stealing from the taxpayer.

“Tax fraud is never a victimless crime and the eye watering sums he spent on cars and jewellery should have been funding the public services we all rely on.

“I hope this result serves as a warning to the minority of corrupt professionals who wrongly believe they can use their knowledge to assist clients committing fraud.

“We can and will work with our law enforcement partners to bring you to justice and we encourage anyone with information about any type of tax fraud to report it online.”

https://www.mynewsdesk.com/uk/hm-revenue-customs-hmrc/pressreleases/nightclub-boss-and-accountant-face-the-music-3382753

Lucrative contracts were handed out by NHS managers in return for cash and gifts across the country.

Four men have been convicted in a £6m corruption and bribery probe at health boards across Scotland.

The group was charged following investigations into the award of lucrative NHS contracts to an Ayrshire–based telecommunications firm.

Adam Sharoudi, 41, and Gavin Brown, 48, ran Oricom Ltd, a firm that started from a garden shed and went on to secured major deals.

However, prosecutors said the contracts for the supply and maintenance of telecoms and video conferencing equipment broke the rules regarding financial wrongdoing in the tendering process.

The Oricom bosses were illegally aided by Alan Hush, 68, and 60-year-old Gavin Cox.

Hush was the telecommunications manager at NHS Lothian and then NHS Scotland’s video conferencing manager.

Cox held the post of head of IT and infrastructure at NHS Lanarkshire.

The pair abused their powers as “public servants” to push deals through.

One contract alone was worth £3.1m.

In return, Hush got £18,231 of cash bungs and gifts, Cox a total of more than £70,000.

All four men denied the accusations during a three-month trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

But on Tuesday, jurors – after more than eight days of deliberations – found them guilty and they each face lengthy sentences when they return to the dock next month.

https://news.stv.tv/scotland/four-men-convicted-over-6-5m-nhs-scotland-corruption-and-bribery

City of London Police has welcomed the 2025-2027 PEEL assessment framework published by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), which places new emphasis on the crime of fraud.

Released on 11 April, the framework outlines what will be covered in the inspectorate’s next assessment cycle, designed to measure forces in England and Wales for police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy (PEEL).

Of the nine questions which comprise the 2025-2027 PEEL framework, a new addition is one relating specifically to fraud; it will consider accountability, capacity and capability, force response, investigations and support for victims. It marks the first time that the framework places specific emphasis on how police forces respond to the growing threat of fraud.

Deputy Commissioner Nik Adams, national policing lead for fraud of the City of London Police, said: “We welcome this important development, which highlights the increasing significance of how law enforcement addresses fraud – a crime-type that accounts for 50 per cent of all reported offences.

“This renewed focus brings greater accountability on police forces to not only manage fraud threats within their communities, but also to deliver meaningful outcomes for victims – something that lies at the heart of our mission.

“We are working closely with forces and partners across the UK to strengthen our collective response, enhance investigative capabilities, and build the necessary capacity to meet the scale of the challenge.

“Our commitment is clear: to provide the best possible service to victims, continually improve their experience, and maximise opportunities for law enforcement and its partners to reduce harm and prevent fraud. As part of this effort, and in recognition of the need to meet rising demand, we are developing a new, enhanced service for reporting and analysing fraud. This will allow us to better harness data and technology in support of our mission.

“We are actively engaging with local and regional forces to further improve access to this system, which represents just one part of our wider commitment to innovation and collaboration in the fight against fraud.”

https://emergencyservicestimes.com/2025/04/28/city-of-london-police-welcomes-new-framework-strengthening-the-fight-against-fraud/

The SFO today searched five properties and made three arrests as it announced a new multi-million pound international bribery investigation.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) today searched five properties and made three arrests as it announced a new multi-million pound international bribery investigation.

The target of the investigation is UK company Blu-3 and former associates of the global construction firm Mace Group.

The operation included a search of a suspect’s premises today by Monaco authorities with assistance from the SFO.

Individuals at Blu-3 are suspected of paying over £3 million of bribes to former associates of Mace Group in relation to the construction of a data centre in the Netherlands for the technology giant Microsoft.

More than 70 SFO staff searched four homes and one commercial property across London, Kent, Surrey and Somerset today to seize evidence. Three individuals were arrested for questioning.

The Solicitor General Lucy Rigby KC MP attended one of the arrests in North London this morning.

Today’s operation and our continuing investigation is supported by the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Nick Ephgrave QPM, Director of the Serious Fraud Office, said:

“Paying bribes to do business undermines our financial markets, the reputation of British companies and the rule of law and will not be tolerated.

“Today’s action is a reminder that we will take rapid and robust action to tackle suspected bribery and corruption wherever it appears – at home and overseas.”

Solicitor General Lucy Rigby KC MP said:

“Bribery undermines the values of fairness and playing by the rules, and hurts individuals, businesses, and our wider economy.”

“As part of our Plan for Change, this Government is committed to tackling all forms of bribery to protect working people and ensure criminals are brought to justice.”

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/sfo-opens-european-data-centre-bribery-investigation

Plans to recover stolen cash and impose driving bans on those who repeatedly fail to pay back taxpayer money moved a step closer today, as Ministers vowed “to address the unacceptable levels of fraud and error we’ve inherited”

• The Public Authorities (Fraud, Error, and Recovery) Bill, set to save £1.5 billion over the next five years, progresses to the Lords 
• The Bill follows the biggest welfare fraud and error budget package in recent history 
• Changes could help boost investment in public services and protect the public purse, as part of the Plan for Change

New souped-up powers from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), which will allow DWP to recover money directly from the bank accounts of fraudsters who can repay but are wilfully gaming the system in order not to, passed an important stage in the House of Commons as it had its Third Reading. 

The Public Authorities (Fraud, Error, and Recovery) Bill, which could put these measures into law, will help DWP to catch fraudsters, prevent overpayments and protect taxpayer’s money.  

The Bill will save the taxpayer £1.5 billion over the next five years and is part of wider plans set out in the Autumn budget and Spring Statement to save £9.6 billion by 2030. This means taxpayer’s money can be invested in public services as part of the government’s Plan for Change.   

Minister for Transformation, Andrew Western said:   

Enhancing our powers is essential to fulfilling our commitment to the public, as they will enable us to address the unacceptable levels of fraud and error we’ve inherited and better protect public funds.

By strengthening our ability to catch criminals and prevent overpayments, we can keep up with the evolving nature of welfare fraud while reducing the risk of people falling further into debt, ensuring that more resources are directed towards improving the lives of people across the country.

The new legislation comes as the government is dealing with the broken welfare system it inherited, with out-of-control levels of fraud and error costing the taxpayer around £10 billion a year – with a total of £35 billion of taxpayers’ money incorrectly paid to those not entitled to the money since the pandemic.    

https://www.wired-gov.net/wg/news.nsf/articles/Fraud+Bill+to+save+1.5+billion+progresses+to+the+Lords+30042025160500

An independent review of the UK’s fraud laws is to be carried out for the first time in nearly 40 years.

Part two of Jonathan Fisher KC’s Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences marks the first review of fraud legislation since 1986.

During this time, the nature and scale of fraud has evolved considerably, with fraud now accounting for more than 40 per cent of all offences recorded by the Crime Survey for England and Wales.

Where Lord Roskill’s 1986 review focused mostly on the serious fraud committed by corporate entities, the huge increase in fraud offences over the past decade has come at the expense of ordinary consumers and small businesses, targeted by highly organised gangs, many of them based overseas.

The Home Office says the resulting harm to society is severe, with fraud against individuals in England and Wales alone recently estimated to cost more than £6.8 billion every year.

Fraud has also been transformed by the impact of modern technology, with the increasing use of artificial intelligence to create scambots, deepfakes and websites impersonating established businesses and public authorities.

Fraud gangs have the ability to target tens of thousands of Britons every hour through social media, email and telephone, and need to persuade only a small fraction of those individuals to fall for their scams in order to make millions of pounds.

The Home Office will place these emerging threats at the heart of its new, expanded fraud strategy to be published later this year, but it will also be vital to have the independent analysis provided by Jonathan Fisher KC to inform the response required from government, law enforcement and industry. And with international cooperation to disrupt threats a key national security commitment within its Plan for Change, the Government is also building a united global response as part of its strategy to tackle fraud.

Part 2 of the Fisher Review will therefore examine the largest challenges faced by law enforcement in bringing criminals committing fraud offences to justice in England and Wales. Specifically, it will consider issues in various stages of the fraud life cycle, including detection and reporting, disruption, investigation, and prosecution and offences.

https://policeprofessional.com/news/fraud-laws-to-be-reviewed-for-first-time-in-40-years/

British prosecutors have had a hard time trying to get a criminal conviction on a company for financial crime.

There have been convictions for environmental pollution and for corporate manslaughter, but trying to find a way to make a company criminally liable for occurrences in the business has been much harder.

The case that really brought it home in the legal as well as the wider world is the action against Barclays and Barclays Bank, and subsequently its former directors, regarding the way that investments were made with the state of Qatar during the financial crisis, in an effort to stave-off a government bailout.

While all were acquitted – though the bank was more recently fined over its conduct with regards to listings rules in part of the same affair by the Financial Conduct Authority – the case was cited as an example of how difficult it was to attribute criminal liability to a whole firm, from the alleged actions of some of its most senior personnel. The former chief executive and three other officers were acquitted separately over conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and unlawful financial assistance.

Prosecutors and lawyers are now hoping that a change in the law, which came into force in December 2023, with the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA) 2023, will change the game fundamentally.

The key part of the legislation here allows for the fact that senior managers can effectively be representing the company itself, and therefore the organisation can be prosecuted if senior managers have been up to criminal behaviour.

https://www.ftadviser.com/financial-fraud/2025/4/22/economic-crime-act-only-moves-the-dial-from-almost-impossible-to-quite-difficult/

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has today launched new guidance for corporates about self-reporting, co-operation and Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs).

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) today launched new guidance, stating for the first time that if a corporate self-reports suspected wrongdoing and co-operates fully with investigators, it can expect to be invited to negotiate a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) rather than face prosecution, unless exceptional circumstances apply.

At a legal conference in London, SFO Director Nick Ephgrave introduced new corporate co-operation guidance that will make it simpler for corporates to report suspected wrongdoing by a direct route to the SFO’s Intelligence Division via a secure reporting portal.

The guidance also provides greater clarity on what the SFO views as ‘genuine co-operation’, including preservation of digital and hard copy material, presenting the facts on suspected criminal conduct and early engagement with the SFO on any internal investigation. The guidance also gives examples of what the SFO views as uncooperative conduct, including attempts to “forum shop” by unreasonably reporting offending to another jurisdiction for strategic reasons and attempts to minimise or obfuscate the involvement of individuals.

In return, a self-reporting company can expect the SFO to:

• Contact it within 48 business hours of a self-report or other initial contact.
• Provide a decision whether to open an investigation within six months of a self-report.
• Conclude its investigation within a prompt time frame.
• Conclude DPA negotiations within six months of sending an invite.

Nick Ephgrave QPM, Director of the Serious Fraud Office, said:

"We are determined to lead the fight against serious and complex fraud, bribery and corruption at home and side by side with international partners. Our new guidance sets out how corporates can report suspected criminality to us and what we expect from cooperating corporates."

"If you have knowledge of wrongdoing, the gamble of keeping this to yourself has never been riskier."

The new guidance comes amidst a push by the SFO to optimise its operating environment to tackle top-tier criminality, including by advancing plans to incentivise whistleblowers, supporting reform of outdated disclosure practice, trialling new technology and setting up a taskforce to tackle international bribery and corruption with key partners.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/sfo-sets-out-route-for-businesses-to-avoid-prosecution?copilot_analytics_metadata=eyJldmVudEluZm9fY2xpY2tEZXN0aW5hdGlvbiI6Imh0dHBzOlwvXC93d3cuZ292LnVrXC9nb3Zlcm5tZW50XC9uZXdzXC9zZm8tc2V0cy1vdXQtcm91dGUtZm9yLWJ1c2luZXNzZXMtdG8tYXZvaWQtcHJvc2VjdXRpb24iLCJldmVudEluZm9fY29udmVyc2F0aW9uSWQiOiJXVlNnZk1jS1FWelZCcUgyekhRckwiLCJldmVudEluZm9fbWVzc2FnZUlkIjoiSHdOZlJ2UGZrcGFGWXpnWG04VGRwIiwiZXZlbnRJbmZvX2NsaWNrU291cmNlIjoiY2l0YXRpb25MaW5rIn0%3D&citationMarker=9F742443-6C92-4C44-BF58-8F5A7C53B6F1

A fraudster who swindled more that £77,000 from a primary school has been told she has to pay back all of her ill-gotten gains.

Wendy Gill abused her position and 'betrayed' colleagues at a Midlands school to pocket the huge amount of cash over six years.

Now, she has to sell her home in order to raise the funds and hand all the money back.

Recorder Samuel Skinner ordered she pay back the entire amount by July 13 during a proceeds of crime act hearing.

He said: "The benefit figure is £77,395 and the available assets are the same."

Gill admitted fraud by abuse of position and was locked up for two years and one month last year.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/fraudster-swindled-77k-primary-school-102557791.html

Five former colleagues escape custody over scam targeting online administration system.

Aformer soldier has been jailed for his role in a fraud that saw more than £900,000 wrongly claimed from the Ministry of Defence’s Joint Personal Administration system.

Former corporal Aaron Stelmach-Purdie, aged 34, operated the scam between November 2014 and January 2016 with the aid of five former colleagues who were working as clerks at Regent’s Park Barracks in central London.

Southwark Crown Court heard that the six defendants benefitted to varying degrees from false claims totaling £911,677.66 over the period submitted through the JRA, which is an online administration system used for salaries, expenses and allowances.

Stelmach-Purdie was said to be involved in all 161 transactions that made up the figure, and the court heard he kept £557,093 of the proceeds of the fraud for himself.

Stelmach-Purdie is believed to have spent at least some of the funds he illegally pocketed on dental work and cosmetic surgery, as well as on designer shoes and luggage.

He previously pleaded guilty to seven counts of conspiracy to commit fraud and one count of money laundering.

At a sentencing hearing yesterday, Stelmach-Purdie was jailed for three years and four months. His five co-defendants escaped custodial sentences.

https://www.civilserviceworld.com//professions/article/aaron-stelmach-purdie-ex-soldier-jailed-900k-mod-fraud