Fraud Newsletter No. 85 November 2023

LPP: Fraud exception considered: applicability to non-parties; course to adopt where redaction is not possible: Al Sadeq v Dechert LLP [2023] EWHC 795 (KB), [2023] 1 WLR 3749.

“Officers or other similar officers” of company does not usually include administrators appointed under Insolvency Act 86: R (Palmer) v Northern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court [2023] UKSC 38.

Unduly lenient sentences: conspiracy to pervert and make false instruments (passports): Ds aged 61, 67 and 73; 74 offences; between 12 and 10 years substituted for 8 and 6⅔ years: Beard (AG-s Ref) [2023] EWCA Crim 1015.

Flagging up departures from concessions by prosecution should be expressly flagged: Beard above [35] following Stewart [2016] EWCA Crim 2238

Data Protection and Digital Information Bill 2023 includes powers to require data from banks and 3rd parties to help reduce benefit fraud: Press Release summary: DSIT/DWP/HO: 23 Nov 23

Economic Crime & Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (Commencement No. 1) Regulations 2023 SI 2023 No.1206. s214 (sanctions enforcement: monetary penalties) in force 15 Nov. 23; s 22,27,67,103,147,183,187-193, 211 (SFO pre-investigatory powers) and Schedule 11 (economic crime offences) in force 15 Jan 2004. ECCTA23 herewith.

S196 (in force states that where senior managers of companies or partnerships commit offences within the apparent scope of their authority, the co./partnerships are also guilty.

Online Fraud Charter: HO 30 Nov 23: World first agreement to tackle online fraud: 30 Nov 23.

Government Response to the Consultation “Preventing the use of SIM farms for fraud”: HO. 27 Nov 23

Fraud: The Emergence of a UK Epidemic: RUSI 16 Nov 23.

Review of Computer Misuse Act 1990 – Analysis of Consultation Responses: HO: 14 Nov 23

Public Sector Fraud Authority Annual Report 2022-23: Audited benefits/savings achieved £311m: 13 Nov 23.

Illicit Financial Flows from Cyber-Enabled Fraud: FA: 9 Nov 23.

UK and Singapore secure agreement against ransomware payments: HO/NCSC: 2 Nov 23: International Counter Ransomware Initiative 2023 Joint Statement: White House: 1 Nov 23.

Post Office Horizon IT inquiry: Recordings, transcripts, reports, evidence and key documents etc available on the POHITI website.

CPS:

• Oxbridge fraudster gets another eight-years in jail for failing to pay back £2.7m court order: 29 Nov 23.

• Ladbrokes and Coral owner to pay £585m to settle HMRC bribery inquiry: Guardian: 24 Nov 23

• £9.8m to be seized from man who produced steroids on commercial scale: 17 Nov 23

FCA:

• Two individuals guilty of making £3m worth of fraudulent mortgage applications: 15 Nov 23.

• Confiscation order secured against convicted CFO of Redcentric: 3 Nov 11

SFO:

• Conviction of solicitor for tipping off client about ML investigation: 14 Nov 23: 9 months imposed: 30 Nov 23

• £250k tennis club debenture recovered from convicted fraudster Achilleas Kallakis, convicted in January 13: 24 Nov 23.

• ‘Deep corruption’ at centre of SFO Saudi bribery trial. Trial to run to March ’24: FT: 22 Nov 23.

• Patisserie Valerie fraud trial will not start until 2026, court told: Guardian: 7 Nov 23

• Charging Decisions on Alleged Glencore Bribery Delayed to 2024: Bloomberg: 1 Nov 23.

• British man cannot be extradited to US over fake cryptocurrency scheme, court rules: Reuters: 16 Nov 23

• British lawyer found guilty of ‘tipping off’ client about fraud probe: Reuters: 14 Nov 23

• UK banks caught up in Europe’s biggest-ever tax fraud of £10 B: This is Money: 12 Nov 23

• Criminal sentenced following over £2M Mandate fraud case: DCPCU (Dedicated Card & Payment Crime Unit) prosecution: UK Finance: 7 Nov 23.

• AI bot capable of insider trading and lying, say researchers: BBC News: 3 Nov 23

• Zhongzhi Enterprise Group: China investigates major shadow bank for ‘crimes’: ZEG is one of China’s biggest shadow banks recently reported insolvent with liabilities of $64B, cf assets $38B: BBC News 27 Nov 23.

• SEC Obtains Final Judgments Against Rio Tinto and Former CEO: SEC: 21 Nov 23 re Mozambique coal (SEC complaint 17 Oct 17).

• Binance chief Changpeng Zhao pleads guilty to money laundering charges & fined $50m: BBC News: 22 Nov 23: $4B Resolution with DoJ: DoJ 21 Nov 23. Sentencing hearing 23 Feb 2024

• Shakira: Singer settles Spanish tax fraud case with €7.5m fine: BBC News: 20 Nov 23

• Lifecore Biomedical Avoids U.S. Prosecution over alleged Mexico bribes: WSJ: 17 Nov 23

• Europol and Eurojust support Czech and Ukrainian police in taking down multi-million euro voice phishing gang: Eurojust: 16 Nov 23.

• ‘Crypto King’ Sam Bankman-Fried guilty of FTX fraud and Everyone got duped by Sam Bankman-Fried’s big gamble: BBC News: 3 Nov 23