Insights

The issue of money laundering through prime real estate in London and elsewhere has been a growing political issue for some years now and measures to combat the flow of illicit “dirty money” into the UK have been become ever higher profile as the government encourages enforcement agencies to tackle this area of crime. As part of this, new powers, under the Criminal Finances Act 2017,

The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) is the body responsible for protecting the EU’s financial interests. It has two main focuses: to investigate fraud involving EU expenditure, and to investigate corruption involving the staff of EU institutions. Its jurisdiction spans the entirety of the EU and it closely collaborates with EU institutions and the national authorities and law enforcement agencies of each member state to fight cross-border fraud.

A recent report created by Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud and cyber crime reporting centre, revealed that in 2017 holiday fraud in the UK amounted to £6.7 million, with 4,700 holidaymakers affected. The average amount lost per person, at above £1,500, represents a 25% rise from the previous year. Further, Action Fraud’s report revealed that victims of holiday booking fraud claimed the impact of the crime had gone beyond just financial, with some saying it had also affected their health.

In a news release published on 10 April 2018, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) announced its intention to use artificial intelligence in all new investigations. The organisation said its new AI system, which automates document analysis, will scan millions of documents and be able to detect patterns, remove duplicates, group information by topic and eventually sift for relevance. The new ‘robot’ was trialled in the Rolls-Royce case to detect material that might attract legal professional privilege in around 30 million documents. This was the first criminal case in the UK to make use of AI, and it was hailed a success by the SFO.

It's certainly not news to us that Cyber Fraud has been increasing rapidly over the last few years, however, it has been confirmed in a recent annual global fraud and risk survey conducted by Kroll's. The report shows a gradual incline since 2012, with 86% of companies worldwide reporting at least one incidence of cybercrime in 2017. This is not surprising given the sheer pace technology is advancing. With organisations racing to embrace innovations for fear of being left behind, both the organisation and individuals are left open to fraud. How businesses plan for fraud will make a difference in the long-term for the security of their business interests as well as their clients' data and assets.