Fraud Newsletter No. 88 February 2024

Al Sadeq v Dechert LLP, Gerrard & Ors [2024] EWCA Civ 28. Read Mary Cowe’s [Blog here]

Director of Border Revenue v OM Cash & Carry [2024] EWHC 265 (Admin): s.139(6) CEMA 79 service of notice of seizure under on respondent’s solicitor constituted proper service.

Say Chong Lim and others V Chee Kong Ong [2024] EWHC 373: following fraud and breach of trust trial (Chancery) 22 months custody for 7 counts of contempt of court.

Draft ECCTA 2023 (Financial Penalty) Regulations 2024: CoHo can impose financial penalties. In force 2 May 24

A-G’s Guidelines on Disclosure updated (re digital material): A-GO: 29 Feb 24. Attorney General’s Guidelines on Disclosure – 2024.

Consultation Paper on naming firms under investigation: FCA: 27 Feb 24

Updated HM Treasury advisory notice on money laundering and terrorist financing controls in high-risk third countries: 26 Feb 24

KPMG Fraud Barometer: 5 Feb 24

Response to Law Commission review of SARs regime: HO: 12 Feb 24

Implementation of ECCTA 2023 – Oral Evidence: HOC 6 Feb 24

CPS:

• Prison worker sentenced for misconduct in public office after misreporting welfare checks: 19 Feb 24.
• Last of a group of lawyers convicted for defrauding the Legal Aid Agency; 14 Feb 24
• Criminals who laundered . . . life savings in £12m shares scam sentenced: 9 Feb 24.
• Men jailed for laundering more than £12m criminal cash: 1 Feb 24

FCA:

• Guy Flintham pleads guilty to fraud: £19m investment scheme: 19 Feb 24
• Convicted illegal money lender imprisoned for failing to pay confiscation order: 16 Feb 24
• Mohammad Zina sentenced to 22 months in prison for insider dealing and fraud: Suhail Zina acquitted: Sentencing remarks: Allison Clare KC on acting in the case: Times [paywall]: 16 Feb 24
• 4 men under investigation – suspicion of insider trading and money laundering: 14 Feb 24.
• FCA focuses on 4 areas to tackle financial crime: 8 Feb 24

NCA:

• Former Chief of Staff to Madagascan President convicted of bribery: 20 Feb 24
• International investigation disrupts the world’s most harmful cybercrime group (Ransomware group LockBit): 20 Feb 24

Environment Agency (EA):

• Ensuring crime doesn’t pay: New Economic Crime Unit to tackle money laundering and carry out financial investigations: 5 Feb 24

Insolvency Service:

• 7 year ban for restaurant manager who hired illegal workers: 20 Feb 24
• 2 companies shut down after £3m fraud against investors: 20 Feb 24.

Misuse of COVID Bounce Back Loans: A number of such prosecutions are set out on the IS website.

SFO:

• Glencore ‘secretly paid $14.5m to middleman in Chad loan deal’: Source Material: 24 Feb 24
• SFO raids three properties and makes 4 arrests in new £140m property fraud investigation: 21 Feb 24
• London Capital & Finance ran ‘Ponzi’ scheme, court told: F.T. 19 Feb 24
• SFO charges 2 former Petrofac senior executives with bribery: 16 Feb 24
• Director Ephgrave’ speech at RUSI: SFO generated £1.1b for Treasury over 5 years: disclosure costs 25% of operational budget; introducing “technology assisted review”; considering payments to whistleblowers as in US: 13 Feb 24
• Convicted fraudster sentenced following 3rd name change: 13 Feb 24
• Senior executives must be held individually accountable: F.T: 11 Feb 24
• Buy2Let Cars bosses in court on fraud charges: AM Online: 5 Feb 24
• Extradited Autonomy founder Mike Lynch sues SFO over data request: Bloomberg: 1 Feb 24

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

• Post Office hires ex-police to check its investigators in Horizon scandal: BBC: 26 Feb 24
• Post Office scandal victims set to be cleared by new law: BBC: 24 Feb 24

• Crooked House: Owners of wonky pub ordered to rebuild (6 arrested re the fire): BBC News 27 Feb 24.
• The bad apple that cost Dechert £47m: City A.M: 29 Feb 24.
• HMRC Fraud Team’s civil inquiries fall by half over 5 years: BIJ: 18 Feb 24
• The many frauds of Dozy Mmobuosi, failed Sheffield Untd owner: Moneyweek: 23 Feb 24: US Indictment re Tingo Mobile etc: vanished from his London townhouse last week: D. Mail 25 Feb 24.
• UK Freezes Azerbaijani Lawmaker’s £39m Properties OCCRP: 22 February 2024
• Amount of fraud in UK more than doubled to £2.3bn in 2023, report finds: Guardian: 19 Feb 24
• Sim-swap fraud: How your bank account can be emptied by phone: Guardian: 19 Feb 24
• Another Post Office? HBOS Reading fraud scandal report delayed yet again: CityA.M. 9 Feb 24. Message from Dame Linda Dobbs: Twitter/X
• Mastermind of £12m boiler room fraud – Rolls Royce Wraith and 84 gold bars seized – jailed for 5 years: CoP: 9 Feb 24.
• Serial romance fraudster jailed after defrauding more than £300k from 4 women: Cheshire Constabulary: 6 Feb 24.
• Former police officer charged with defrauding thousands of investors into failed racing and betting syndicate – £157.8m owed in alleged Ponzi scheme: Racing Post: 6 Feb. 24
• Guildford Borough Council fraud investigation escalated by Surrey Police: BBC: 8 Feb 24
• Fraudulent Norwich solicitor’s appeal bid rejected; Eastern Daily Press: 7 Feb 24
• Ex-police officer charged over betting syndicate ‘fraud’: Times [paywall]: 6 Feb 24
• Iran used Lloyds and Santander accounts to evade sanctions: F.T. 5 Feb 24
• Mike Ashley takes legal action against Morgan Stanley and HMRC over data breaches: Retail Gazette: 5 Feb 24
• HMRC publishes details of live Corporate Criminal Offences investigations: 5 Feb 24
• Lawyers raise alarm at struggle to tackle UK local government corruption: Guardian: 2 Feb 24.
• The legal scammer who cost vulnerable clients thousands: BBC News: 1 Feb 24.

• Frankfurt to host the EU’s new anti-money laundering authority (AMLA): 22 Feb 24
• International cybercrime malware service targeting thousands of unsuspecting consumers dismantled: Europol 12 Feb: 24.
• Ex-London Fund Manager Jailed Over German Tax Scandal – 4 years 10 months re $100m cum-ex fraud: BNN Bloomberg: 1 Feb 24.

• Sam Bankman-Fried lawyer argues long prison sentence would be ‘grotesque’: Guardian: 28 Feb 24
• Russian Citizen Pleads Guilty to Selling Stolen Financial Information on Criminal Internet Marketplace, Slilpp – 626k stolen log-in credentials offered for sale. DoJ: 16 Feb 24.
• Trump ordered to pay $355m to New York for lying to banks and barred from doing business in NY for 3 years; Trump companies subject to strict oversight. BBC News 17 Feb 24
• Bitcoin money launderer Ian Freeman ordered to pay $3.5 million to romance scam victims: 14 Feb 24.
• FirstEnergy Ex-CEO and 2 others indicted in bribery scandal: NYT: 12 Feb 24
• US Charges 70 NY Housing Authority Employees with Bribery: OCCRP: 9 Feb 24

• Former Malaysian finance minister charged following Pandora Papers revelations: ICIJ: 6 Feb 24
• Company worker in Hong Kong pays out £20m in deepfake video call scam: Guardian: 5 Feb 24.

Fraud Newsletter Feb 24 No. 88