Calls for government to increase resources for SFO as white collar crime soars
Reported white collar crimes of fraud, money laundering and bribery are rising fast—but the number of prosecutions for the same has dropped dramatically during the last three years.
The number of fraud cases reported to the police nearly doubled in the last financial year from 122,240 to 230,845. However, figures obtained by law firm Pinsent Masons show a fall in prosecutions of 14% from 11,261 in 2011 to just 9,700 in 2013.
Barry Vitou, partner at Pinsent Masons, says: “The decline in prosecutions doesn’t mean that there are fewer criminals.
“Criminals are using complex ways to defraud businesses and individuals, reports have doubled and too few are getting prosecuted. The more sophisticated white collar criminals become, the more resources the police and investigators require. What has happened is the opposite, with the Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) budget falling by 40% since the credit crunch from £52m to £32m.
“It is essential that the government gives more financial support to the SFO and other police units, so that they can take on the fraudulent activity that is a significant drain on the profits of British businesses. The rise in cyber crime makes this doubly important. It is unlikely that the police and SFO will be able to take on highly skilled gangs of criminal hackers on the cheap.
“Considering the huge cost to UK plc of fraud, the money saved by shrinking the SFO’s budget is a false economy.”
The firm has called on the government to give more funding to the SFO, City of London Police and other taskforces dedicated to pursuing white collar criminals, and points out that the SFO has to make emergency requests for funds to pay for major new initiatives such as the LIBOR investigations.
Business fraud costs British businesses an estimated £85bn per year.
