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10 March 2017 / Professor Mark Button
Issue: 7737 / Categories: Features , Fraud , Procedure & practice
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Fraud & punishment

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Mark Button details research which will help to map & rank alternative justice systems for fraud

In recent years there have been a number of high profile cases of high status professionals sanctioned for serious fraud related behaviours by regulatory bodies, rather than the criminal justice system. For instance in 2012 the Daily Mirror (2012) ran a front page headline: “Call this justice? City banker steals £1.4m... no charge. Shop worker steals £10k... 9 months’ jail” after the then Financial Services Authority (FSA) published a regulatory decision regarding a senior executive in a private equity firm who had, in the words of the FSA (2012), “fraudulently obtained” just under £1.4m. His punishment from the FSA was a financial penalty just short of £3m and an order banning him from working in financial services. There was, however, no criminal prosecution. More recently another senior city worker, who had regularly failed to purchase a rail ticket, amounting to a £43,000 loss for the rail companies was dealt with by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) with

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Flint Bishop—Charlotte Harris

Flint Bishop—Charlotte Harris

Sheffield expansion continues with appointment of commercial property partner

Browne Jacobson—Paul Duggan

Browne Jacobson—Paul Duggan

Browne Jacobson strengthens banking and finance practice with latest partner appointment Paul Duggan

Ward Hadaway—Chris Piggott

Ward Hadaway—Chris Piggott

Employment partner joins Ward Hadaway

NEWS
The Law Society RFC Festival of Sport returns next month, bringing together legal and financial services professionals for one of the sector’s largest annual sporting events
Legal aid deserts leave almost one in four without adequate access to justice
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has warned solicitors and law firms that using artificial intelligence does not alter their professional obligations, amid concerns over inaccurate legal material and client confidentiality
From forgotten interest claims to case-management appeals, a string of procedural developments offers useful—and occasionally cautionary—lessons for practitioners

Jonathan Fisher KC highlights that it now accounts for around 40% of criminal offences, with roughly 70% involving technology, and argues that the UK cannot simply prosecute its way out of the problem. Detection, investigation and prosecution all require improvement, while different fraud types demand tailored responses.

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