Fraud Intelligence

In line with a long-term behavioural trend, the UK Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) estimates that fraud will increase 5% a year without action to contain it.

While Laura Kövesi, the first European Public Prosecutor, is used to fighting hard, not just in court but in the political space that offices like hers inhabit, frustration over the resourcing limits she faces, was evident in a recent meeting with members of the European Parliament. Sara Lewis reports, from Brussels, on the pressure Kövesi and her team face to do more with less than they need.

Law enforcement actions against dark web marketplaces and ransomware groups has created instability in the criminal world, through the resulting splintering of gangs, European Union (EU) police agency Europol has warned.

The use of complex cross-border structures and new technologies by fraudsters means that legal tools to identify and secure recoverable funds must constantly be reinterpreted. Rebecca Hume of Howard Kennedy details case law developments pertaining to service of proceedings, disclosure orders and the 'responsible persons liability principle'.

The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) has spoken out against a proposed Austrian law it believes could undermine its ability to probe transnational and national crime by preventing its teams from seizing data in evidence against offenders.

Computing power grows exponentially, seemingly relentlessly, so cracking the most secure codes currently in use is a matter of not much more time; in fact, it may have happened, unbeknownst to any but a few in one or more governments, which is disturbing enough, and that's before the enrichment potential for fraudsters. Paul Cochrane looks to the next digital arms race, already begun.

A Whistleblowing Bill from the last government is currently shelved, but consensus is building among key decision-makers that offering financial rewards to those who speak up when they see wrongdoing may enhance enforcement outcomes in the United Kingdom. Fred Saugman of WilmerHale provides an update and urges that paying whistleblowers will only be effective as part of a wider package of reforms.

A UK High Court judge has condemned Emirati-Lebanese shipbuilder Privinvest over its role in the 'tuna bonds' corruption scandal that landed Mozambique with US$2 billion in hidden debts, crashing its previously buoyant economy in 2016 when it defaulted on an IMF loan.

The UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has charged five former employees of Swiss commodities giant Glencore, including ex global head of the oil division, Alex Beard, with bribery in West Africa from 2007 to 2014.