Fraud Newsletter No. 68 June 2022

CASES

Nothing of moment

SENTENCING AND CONFISCATION

Noble Sentencing Remarks HHJ Foster (St Albans) 24 Jun 22. Largest English benefit fraud: good character. 66 years old. Plea. £702,925 social care payments (loss £624,057). Fake claims of being bed-bound over 15 years; forgery of carers signatures and emails; fake carers etc. 6 years sentence in absence as absconded from bail.

£90k fraud against vulnerable: A-G’s Ref (R. v O’Neill) [2021] EWCA Crim 1427; [2022] 1 Cr.App.R.(S.) 49.

BILLS, STATUTES & STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS

Draft Register of Overseas Entities (Delivery, Protection and Trust Services) Regulations 2022 laid before Parliament: Register of beneficial owners or managing officers of UK property owned by foreign entities. Companies House explanation.

Elected Representatives (Prohibition of Deception) Bill (private m. Bill) re misleading statements: 28 Jun 22.

CONSULTATIONS, GUIDANCE, CIRCULARS AND REPORTS

UK Finance Annual Fraud Report for 2021: Press Release Summary: 29 Jun 22.

Review of the UK’s AML/CFT regulatory and supervisory regime: HM Treasury: 24 Jun 22.

Victims’ Commissioner Annual Report 21/22: 21 Jun 22. See 1:7 re fraud – “Fraud has reached epidemic proportions and its scale is truly staggering. Yet you would not know it judging by the criminal justice system’s response.”

Amendments to the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 SI 2017/2022: Response to the Consultation: HM Treasury: 17 Jun 22.

MoU between BEIS and the CMA re operation of the National Security and Investments Act 2021: DBEIS: 16 Jun 22.

Final Report on Guidelines on policies and procedures re compliance management and the role and responsibilities of the AML/CFT Compliance Officer under Article 8 and Chapter VI of Directive (EU) 2015/849: EBA: 14 Jun 22: Summary

Post-Legislative Assessment of the Fraud Act 2006: Memo.to House of Lords Select Committee on the Fraud Act 2006 and Digital Fraud: CP 680: 8 Jun 22. Re conspiracy to defraud -overwhelming response that it remains useful and should continue: pp 17-20.

Corporate Criminal Liability: an options paper: (263pp) Law Commission: 10 Jun 22: includes consideration of “failure to prevent” (i) an associated person who commits a substantive fraud offence with intent to benefit the corporation; (ii) human rights abuses; (iii) ill-treatment or neglect; (iv) computer misuse. Summary of Options Paper.

NEWS

CPS:

• IT fraudster imprisoned for selling £1m of software to attack personal bank accounts to fraudsters: 14 Jun 22.
• Organised criminal gang jailed for impersonating police officers to defraud victims of over £400k: 10 Jun 22.

FCA:

• Ghana International Bank fined £5.8m for failings in AML controls: 23 Jun 22: FCA Decision Notice
• Insurance broker JLT Specialty fined £7.8m for financial crime control failings: 22 Jun 22. Final Notice
• Work on market abuse and manipulation: update: 17 Jun 22.
• Only 2 insider traders caught by City watchdog in half a decade compared to 20 convictions (2012-2016) based on FoI information which the Times states the FCA tried to block: The Times (paywall): 13 Jun 22.
• [The FCA publishes FOIA information releases. The 2021 Disclosure Log (last updated 31 Mar 22) states (as at 30 Jun 22) that “work to update the Disclosure Log is in progress.”]

NCA:

• Bribery storm engulfs arms dealer: The Times 27 June 22 (paywall): arrested by NCA Oct 21 on suspicion of payments to Malawian officials: assets frozen: still not charged. Spoke to the Times last denying allegations: “I want to be charged so I can fight it and win.”
• SAR Glossary Codes and Reporting Routes: NCA/UKFIU: 17 Jun 22.

SFO:

• Arena TV bosses made bankrupt after failure to pay £100m default judgment: Broadcast: 22 Jun 22.
• Glencore conviction on 7 counts of international bribery ($28m): 21 Jun 22. Sentence on 2 & 3 Nov. 22.
• Fraudulent duo each sentenced to 11 years following conviction for fraudulent green Brazilian investment scheme: 15 Jun 22.
• Third Unaoil bribery offender launches appeal against conviction: Reuters: 6 Jun 22
• Recovered corruption money provides ‘life saving support’ to 150,000 vulnerable people: FCPA Blog 27 Jun 22.

CMA:

• Rangers, JD Sports and Elite Sports accused of fixing kit prices: alleged collusion to keep prices of replica kits high between Sep 18 and July 21: Elite & JD are said to have confessed and co-operated: BBC News: 7 Jun 22.

HOME:

• Phil Shiner pleads not guilty to fraud over Iraqi civilians claims: Law Soc, Gaz.: 27 Jun 22.
• Grant Thornton settles £200m lawsuit with Patisserie Valerie’s administrators: City A.M. 27 Jun 22.
• Convicted British Art fraudster Angela Hamblin arrested in Germany after living on the lam for more than a decade: Artnet News: 17 Jun 22.
• Victims of HBOS fraud offered £3m in compensation: Reuters 13 Jun 22.
• Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance fails to get winding up order thrown out: Guardian 8 Jun 22.
• SRA seek data from all firms to which AML regs apply: Law Soc: 6 Jun 22.

EU & ABROAD:

• Canadian admits to hacking spree with Russian cyber-gang: BBC News 29 Jun 22.
• Ernst & Young to Pay $100M for employees cheating on CPA Ethics Exams and misleading investigation: US SEC: 28 Jun 22. Largest penalty ever imposed against an audit firm.
• Former Garuda chief a suspect in new bribery case Channel News Asia 27 Jun 22.
• Hewlett Packard Executive to Lead US DOJ Fraud Section: WSJ 7 Jun 22.

Gupta brothers arrested in Dubai over alleged corruption in South Africa: Guardian: 6 Jun 22 re alleged Zuma corruption.