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

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) today accused a UK insurance company of failing to prevent international bribery.

Representatives of United Insurance Brokers Limited (UIBL) were ordered to appear before Westminster Magistrates’ Court next month.

The company is charged with failing to prevent associates from bribing state officials in Ecuador between October 2013 and March 2016.

The SFO alleges UIBL’s US-based intermediaries for Ecuador paid bribes in return for the awarding of re-insurance contracts worth US$38 million.

If this case proceeds to a contested trial, it will be the first time that an SFO “failure to prevent bribery” case is heard by a jury.

UIBL offered re-insurance services which insure against any losses caused by making significant and unexpected payouts for insurance policies.

This was sold to state insurers covering parts of the Ecuadorian public sector, including the state water and electricity companies.

UIBL received a US$6.2 million commission to provide these services, of which US$3 million was allegedly paid to intermediaries.

They are accused of subsequently paying bribes to an Ecuadorian official in exchange for the contract.

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

"The SFO remains committed to stamping out international bribery wherever it may occur."

"British companies have a duty to prevent the harm caused by bribery when doing business at home and abroad, to ensure that the UK remains a safe and fair place to do business."

Representatives of the company will appear before Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 7 May to face the charges.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-insurer-charged-with-bribery-in-ecuador

The alleged financial wrongdoing occurred between 2012 and 2016.

THREE people appeared in Cardiff Magistrates' Court on Tuesday (8) charged with fraud totalling more than £5 million at Cardiff Sixth Form College, once featured in a BBC documentary as "Britain's Brainiest School".

Yasmin Anjum Sarwar, 43, and Nadeem Sarwar, 48, both denied nine separate fraud and theft charges. The third defendant, Ragu Sivapalan, 39, pleaded not guilty to false accounting between 2013 and 2016, reported the Telegraph.

https://www.easterneye.biz/three-accused-over-ps5m-fraud-at-top-cardiff-college/

A CHILDREN'S nursery finance manager has been jailed for more than two years after economic crime investigators were able to uncover the vast scale of a fraud.

Kerry McGavigan worked for The Enchanted Wood Nursery, which is based in Benfleet, for seven years.

She had sole responsibility for the nursery’s accounts and raised numerous false invoices for work which was either never carried out or was carried out but for a fraction of the bill. All of the money associated with those fake invoices was paid into her own accounts.

The former finance manager also spent about £20,000 using the company credit card incorrectly.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/finance-boss-south-essex-nursery-145112641.html

Serious Fraud Office (UK) sets out next steps in ambitious plan

The SFO has published its plan for the year ahead focusing on using new tools, enhancing its intelligence capacity and working ‘more vigorously’ with domestic and international partners.

This year, the SFO aims to use the new “failure to prevent fraud” offence, part of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, which comes into force in September. The plan includes refreshed corporate guidance for engaging with the SFO and advancing plans for a #whistleblower incentivisation scheme. #ECCTA #FTPF #Fraud

Read the full SFO 2025-26 Business Plan including a message from Nicholas Ephgrave QPM Director of the Serious Fraud Office.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67ee4e86199d1cd55b48c6e8/SFO_2025-26__Business_Plan.pdf