Earlier this month, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) published its new strategy for the next five years. This follows on from Nick Ephgrave's promise of a bold new approach in his inaugural public address as director of the SFO. However, scratch the surface and much of the content and rhetoric in these recent pronouncements has a very familiar look to it.

https://www.mondaq.com/uk/white-collar-crime-anti-corruption--fraud/1479946/sfos-five-year-strategy-an-innovative-new-plan-or-a-case-of-d%C3%A9j%C3%A0-vu-all-over-again

Ted Datta, senior director, Moody’s head of financial crime compliance industry practice, Europe, Africa, and Americas argues that tackling fraud requires a data-driven approach from government.

Fraud currently accounts for around 38 percent of total crime in England and Wales, and it cost the UK £2.46 billion in FY 21/22. Instances of Fraud have continued to grow in recent years, representing a huge proportion of criminal activity that is costing the UK economy dearly.

https://www.thinkdigitalpartners.com/news/2024/05/13/how-can-the-uk-government-tackle-the-increasing-threat-of-fraud/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=socialnetwork

Richard Furlong considers the liability of company directors for criminal wrongdoing by their employees.

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 expanded corporate liability by widening the identification doctrine from the old “directing mind and will”test to a new “senior manager”test. My colleague Vanessa Reid wrote a very helpful article on these changes in December, available here.

https://www.mountfordchambers.com/the-buck-where-does-it-stop/

The Independent Review into disclosure and fraud offences promised as part of the government’s May 2023 Fraud Strategy has now published its preliminary findings in the disclosure aspect of the investigation.

The independent review is due to examine the disclosure regime in the context of the ‘digital age’ and challenges in the investigation and prosecution of modern fraud.

https://www.mountfordchambers.com/are-we-there-yet-the-fraud-strategy-and-the-independent-review-of-disclosure-and-fraud-offences/

A fifth (20%) of IFAs do not have protective measures against fraud and scams in place, leaving them at risk of an incident or attack, new research from global research and insights agency Opinium reveals.

In addition, just over one in three IFAs (35%) report being subjected to scam and fraud threats, with slightly fewer than a third (31%) having experienced an increase in attempts to compromise their businesses in the past year. Despite this, one in three respondents (35%) do not currently train their staff in how to spot potential threats and protect themselves and the business.

https://ifamagazine.com/a-fifth-of-ifas-have-no-fraud-or-scam-protection-in-place-despite-a-third-seeing-an-increase-in-scam-attempts-in-the-past-year/

Fraud remains England and Wales' most common crime, and last year victims lost over £1bn. To fight back, Which? believes the next government has both an opportunity and an obligation to make tackling fraud a national priority.

https://www.politicshome.com/members/article/next-government-make-fraud-national-priority

The contemporary banking system operates in a dynamic and interconnected global landscape. While this presents vast opportunities, it also introduces novel challenges to financial security. According to a report by Deloitte’s Center for Financial Services, generative AI could drive fraud losses in the United States to an estimated $40 billion by 2027, up from $12.3 billion in 2023. This represents a compound annual growth rate of 32%.

https://www.finextra.com/blogposting/26318/beyond-borders-beyond-fraud-securing-the-future-of-finance

The political parties have stated their plans to clamp down on taxing the wealth and setting in place extra regulations to stop tax avoidance. But why does this need to happen, how common is tax avoidance in the UK?

Tax Avoidance and Evasion Statistics

There is a £4.6 billion tax gap which is due to tax avoidance meaning that taxes are lower what they should be from people and corporations committing tax fraud and avoidance.

Around £70billion of revenue has been lost to tax evasion overall in the UK.

https://www.finance-monthly.com/2024/06/is-tax-avoidance-a-big-problem-in-the-uk/

The UK is fast becoming a global hotspot for online fraud, which is having a devastating impact on both businesses and the economy.

New research from fraud prevention platform Ravelin shows online fraud is increasing globally but has grown more in the UK in the last 12 months than any of the ten countries surveyed, including France, Germany, Italy, America, Brazil, Australia, and Mexico.

https://ifamagazine.com/uk-becomes-the-fraud-capital-of-the-world/

NatWest has issued a warning over Martin Lewis scams - after customers lost as much as £150,000 to them. NatWest’s annual Celebrity Scam Super League table reveals the celebrities fraudsters are exploiting without their knowledge to steal millions of pounds.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/newsbirmingham/natwest-issues-martin-lewis-warning-after-customers-lose-150000/ar-BB1oauUf?ocid=BingNewsSerp