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18 October 2024 / Jonathan Fisher KC
Issue: 8090 / Categories: Opinion , Fraud , Regulatory , Financial services litigation
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Fraud: what next?

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With fraud accounting for 40% of all crime in England & Wales, Jonathan Fisher KC sets out how the new government might tackle it

With fraud estimated to be costing the UK around £130bn each year and constituting approximately 40% of crimes committed in England and Wales, the government will be exploring innovative options to address the problem. A new economic crime plan will probably be published by the Home Office in the coming months.

Corporate fraud

The immediate future in the fight against corporate fraud is not difficult to predict. The new corporate ‘failing to prevent fraud’ offence in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 will come into force in the coming months, alongside an expansion of corporate criminal liability where a senior manager commits an economic crime offence within the scope of their actual and apparent authority. The change does not replace or amend the common law identification doctrine, but instead provides a new statutory route to corporate liability for specific offences. As these measures are

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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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