Fraud Newsletter No. 89 March 2024

SFO v Bluu Solutions Ltd [2024] EWHC 500 KB: DPA – default publication of names post trial of anonymised individuals.

Hayes & Palombo [2024] EWCA Crim 304: LIBOR traders appeal dismissed. Review of doctrine of precedent.

Lim v Ong [2024] EWHC 373 (Ch): post fraud trial, 22 months for 7 counts of contempt re breaches of worldwide freezing order, disclosure, making false statements in affidavits, dissipating assets etc.

Ahmet v Tatum & Anor [2024] EWCA Civ 255: no rule barring 3rd party from seeking to have ownership of restrained property determined by a civil Ct.

R v Abbasi [2024] WLR(D), CA: undertaking not to act as co. director followed by Ct disqualification order. Overall disqualification period longer than stat max. Ct order not ultra vires.

Finance Act 2024 Increased max. terms for certain tax offences from 7 to 14 years; directors’ disqualification in tax avoidance schemes; new offence of failing to comply with stop notice (see part 3).

POCA02 (Application of PACE84) (Amendment) Order 2024. SI No. 426 – powers re crypto asset forfeiture.

POCA02 (References to Financial Investigators) (England and Wales and Northern Ireland) (Amendment) Order 2024. SI No. 425: permits accredited financial investigators to discharge some law enforcement functions.

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (Consequential, Supplementary and Incidental Provisions) Regulations 2024 SI 2024 No. 269; provisions brought into force on 4 and 5 Mar 24 and 26 Apr 24. Other provisions already in force on 15 Jan 24. Press report Summary: CoHo/DB&T: 4 Mar 24. Home Office Factsheets: updated 1 Mar 24

The UK’s Economic Crime Plan 2: Progress, Pitfalls and Prospects: RUSI: 26 Mar 24

FCA Business Plan 2024/2025: FCA: 19 Mar 24

Miscellaneous amendments to sentencing guidelines – response to consultation: Fraud guideline to give more weight to non-financial impact: Sentencing Council: 18 Mar 24

Government Counter Fraud Functional Strategy 2024-2027: Gov: 14 Mar 24

“Criminals should be aware” says Minister as Government upgrades AI fraud detection tool – the Single Network Analytics Platform (SNAP): Cab. Off/ PSFA: 14 Mar 24

Sectoral Risk Assessment – Anti-ML&TF: SRA: updated 5 Mar 24

UK Whistleblowers Flock To The US For Good Reason: Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto Op-Ed: 5 Mar 24

Money mule action plan: Home Office policy paper: 1 Mar 24.

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

CPS:

• Conviction in largest ever Bitcoin laundering case (over £2b): CPS: 20 Mar 24

FCA:

• 2 sentenced for mortgage fraud: 27 Mar 24
• 4 charged over suspected water scam: 22 Mar 24
• £5.95m fine and industry ban for Nailesh Teraiya in latest cum-ex case: 18 Mar 24
• Convicted money launderer meets confiscation order after imprisonment for failure to pay: 15 Mar 24
• FCA warns firms over anti-ml failings: 5 Mar 24
• High Court allows the FCA to pause civil case against WealthTek LLP: 1 Mar 24

Insolvency Service:

• Five sentenced in £500,000 bank fraud and money laundering scheme: 22 Mar 24
• Outcome of investigation into the directors of the collapsed Greensill group: 7 Mar 24.
• Cold-calling sales company shut down after targeting pensioners: 7 Mar 24

NCA:

• Operation Henhouse: over 400 arrests and £19m seized in national campaign tackling fraud: NCA: 26 Mar 24
• Money laundering network boss hit with multi-million pound confiscation order: NCA: 19 Mar 24

SFO:

• ENRC: Court refuses SFO bid to appeal rulings in legal battle with Kazakh mining firm: City A.M. 27 Mar 24
• Bankers jailed for interest rate rigging lose appeal: (LIBOR) BBC 27 Mar 24
• Home REIT: SFO probing whether fund managers misled the market: City A.M: 20 Mar 24
• GPT Verdict: Foreign Office official floated idea of giving honour to fixer for Saudi royals: Guard: 12 Mar 24 ‘Deniable fiddle’: the MoD, Saudi Arabia and a scandal half a century in the making: Guard 7 Mar 24 Two former execs tied to Airbus unit acquitted of corruption – but one still faces jail: City A.M. 6 Mar 24
• 3 Arrests in new care home fraud investigation (Carlauren Group): 12 Mar 2
• Former Autonomy boss Mike Lynch settles data claim with SFO days before trial: City A.M. 5 Mar 24

• Police investigate alleged Fortress Capital investment fraud: Times (Paywall) 26 Mar 24
• Richmond property tycoon Myck Djurberg convicted of £3.5m houseboats fraud: Standard: 22 Mar 24
• Norton Motorcycles: Victims of missing pensions to be compensated: BBC: 19 Mar 24
• Action Fraud issues warning about online safety after £1.3 million lost from hacked email and social media account scams last year: Action Fraud: 18 Mar 2024
• Banks clash with government over plans for funds linked to criminality: CJB may allow transfer of frozen funds to government: F.T 18 Mar 24
• Vulnerable man pleads with UK government to block extradition to US: cybercrime relating to Raidforums: Guard 15 Mar 24
• UK banks to be given more time to investigate fraudulent payments: F.T. 12 Mar 24
• UK hosts world leaders for first Global Fraud Summit: Gov: 11 Mar 24
• Ex-police officer admits ‘massive fraud’ in horse racing betting syndicate: Indep: 7 Mar 24.
• £50m London property empire ‘bought by Azeri tycoon via extraordinarily complex money laundering operation’: E. Standard: 4 Mar 24. Freezing order upheld: Transparency Int: 8 Mar 24 – NCA suspicions that property purchased with Azerbanjani Laundromat monies.
• KPMG fined almost £1.5m over M&C Saatchi audit failures: Ind: 4 Mar 24

• Europol: Holiday Rental Fraud Exposed in Romania: OCCRP: 23 Mar 24
• Michelle Mone’s husband cleared after Spanish fraud trial: BBC: 21 Mar 24
• Munich prosecutor opens AML investigation into collapse of Signa property empire: 13 Mar 24
• Trial of British hedge fund trader accused of £1.4bn fraud begins (Danish trial of Sanjay Shah): BBC: 11 Mar 24
• Investigation Huracán: Five indicted for €53 million VAT fraud: EPPO: 6 Mar 24
• Swiss AG: “DPAs something we should introduce”: GIR [paywall] 6 Mar 24

• Fallen ‘Crypto King’ Sam Bankman-Fried gets 25 years for fraud: BBC: 28 Mar 24
• KuCoin and 2 founders charged with money laundering: DOJ: 26 Mar 24
• Justice Department Seeks Forfeiture of $14 Million Manhattan Apartments Purchased with Proceeds of Mongolian Corruption Scheme: DOJ 26 Mar 24
• Trump wins last-minute reprieve as judge cuts fraud bond to $175m: BBC News: 25 Mar 24. Trump unable to get $464m bond in New York fraud case, his lawyers say: BBC News: 19 Mar 24.
• Former Finance Director Charged for Role in $10M Foreign Bribery Scheme: DOJ 19 Mar 24
• Autonomy founder Mike Lynch called ‘driving force’ of ‘massive fraud’ in US trial: F.T: 14 Mar 24
• Two Guilty of Selling Counterfeit Aircraft Parts to Canadian Airlines: OCCRP: 26 Mar 24
• Bitcoin Fog Operator Convicted of Money Laundering Conspiracy: DOJ: 12 Mar 24
• US defence contractor paid commissions to Saudi firm later alleged to be conduit for bribes: Guard: 11 Mar 24
• Ford Agrees to Pay $365M to Settle Customs Civil Penalty Claims Relating to Misclassified and Under-Valued Vehicles: DOJ: 11 Mar 24

• Interpol: Criminals Increasingly Use AI, Crypto and Online Scams: OCCRP: 13 Mar 24
• Online gambling firm Bet365 probed in Australia re MLTF compliance: BBC News: 7 Mar 24.
• Trial begins in Vietnam’s largest, multi-billion-dollar financial fraud: Reuters: 5 Mar 24
• Geneva oil trader Gunvor reaches $661M settlement with US, Swiss authorities over bribery in Ecuador: A.P 2 Mar 24

Fraud Newsletter March 24 No. 89