Extended fraud powers will benefit justice

Proposed government measures to tackle fraudsters have been met with enthusiasm by the legal profession which sasy that the stronger powers could help restore faith in the criminal justice system.

The consultation from the attorney general’s office—Crown Court Powers—states that the government intends to increase court powers to strike convicted fraudsters from professional registers and pay full compensation to their victims. Gary Miller of the fraud group at Mischon de Reya says the proposals are welcome and will hopefully change the perception of the UK being a soft touch for fraudsters. “There is no doubt in our minds that the more our criminal justice system focuses on taking the money out of the fraudsters pockets and reduces the burden of proof in this context to the civil standard, that is, on the balance of probabilities, then the safer both corporate and individual Britain will be from fraudsters,” says Miller.

He continues:“It makes perfect sense to give the Crown Court the same powers as the civil courts and other regulatory and disciplinary bodies to strike off dodgy professionals, in fact, because proceedings by self regulatory bodies tend to be slow and bureaucratic and perceived by the public to be biased in favour of the dishonest professional this could have an important effect on restoring the public’s faith in the criminal justice system.”