Uptick in money laundering cases reaching court
New figures relating to UK fraud cases suggests that new anti-money laundering measures are having the desired impact. According to research from KPMG, it has been the most common form of fraud to reach court over the first half of 2024.
The KPMG Fraud Barometer has been tracking fraud trends since 1980s and its analysis of cases has continually identified trends in the types of fraud that have dominated courts. The longest running study of its kind in the UK, it considers major fraud cases being heard in the UK’s Crown Courts where charges are £100,000 or above that have been reported on in the media.
KPMG UK’s mid-year Fraud Barometer for 2024 shows there were 122 fraud cases in total heard in the first six months of 2024 – up from 105 cases during the same period in 2023.
This has been helped by success in bringing money laundering cases to court – and nine cases in KPMG’s study involved money laundering. Worth a collective £128.2 million, they were the most common form of fraud in the barometer, and accounted for more than one-third of the total £305 million value of all cases.
Commenting on the findings, Roy Waligora, head of UK investigations at KPMG, said, “Money laundering continues to be a problem in the UK due to the complexity and sophistication of financial systems that can be exploited for illegal activities. It will be interesting to see if the relatively new requirement for overseas entities to be registered at Companies House will result in even more of these cases reaching the courts soon.”
Elsewhere, KPMG found that the public sector had been the biggest victim of fraud in terms of value so far in 2024. Bearing the brunt of the cases, there were 26 fraud cases related to the government heard in UK courts, with a combined value of £193.4 million – an increase of 30% compared to the same period in 2023. With the new government keen to find savings, it will be keen to push for more such prosecutions in the future.
Looking ahead, Waligora added, "Increased attention on public sector fraud has led to better detection and legal action. This vigilance may raise case numbers in the latter half of the year. However, UK courts face challenges managing fraud cases amidst broader judicial pressures. Fortunately, the anticipated guidance on what constitutes ‘reasonable procedures’ to prevent fraud by the government is expected to streamline fraud management and prosecution."
