The number of fraud cases heard in UK Crown Courts in the first half of the year was up 16% on the same period in 2023, with money laundering the most common type by value, according to KPMG.
The consulting giant’s mid-year Fraud Barometer report revealed that nine money laundering cases have been heard so far this year, worth just over £128m.
The research, which records alleged fraud cases with a value of over £100,000, revealed there were 122 such cases during the period, up from 105 in 1H 2023.
According to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, four-fifths of reported fraud is now cyber-enabled.
Read more on money laundering: Final Three Sentenced in £70m Money Laundering Case
Money laundering also has a heavy digital element, with the illicit funds often coming from cybercrime such as online scams. It is then often obfuscated via blockchain transactions, securities trading and/or shell companies or offshore trusts, before being reinvested in legitimate purchases – also often online.
An estimated $22bn worth of cryptocurrency was laundered in 2023, according to Chainalysis.
“Money laundering continues to be a problem in the UK due to the complexity and sophistication of financial systems that can be exploited for illegal activities,” said KPMG partner Ray Waligora. “It will be interesting to see if the relatively new requirement for overseas entities to be registered at Companies House will result in even more of these cases reaching the courts soon.”
KPMG claimed the government has been the biggest victim of fraud so far this year, with 26 fraud cases heard in the courts, at a combined value of £193m. That’s an increase of 30% versus the same period in 2023.
A parliamentary report from September 2023 argued that the previous Conservative government had been slow to take action against error and fraud in Covid grant schemes. By May 2023, it had reportedly recovered only £20.9m of an estimated £1.1bn in losses.
The new Labour government has pledged to create Covid corruption commissioner to help claw back billions more pounds of taxpayer money it claims have been lost to fraud as well as flawed contracts.