40 police officers have been involved in the operation in the South-East of England which has led to a number of co-ordinated searches on four houses, the business unit of a gaming company and a solicitor’s office. Police officers have seized documents from the sites searched. As a result of the raids police have arrested four men on charges of conspiracy to defraud.
HM Revenue and Customs officers arrested 21 people in raids in a multi million pound construction industry fraud.
The arrests were made on suspicion of conspiracy to cheat the public revenue and money laundering offences under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. The Act was designed to take the profit out of crime, making it harder for money to be laundered and depriving criminals of their illicit wealth.
Following an OFT investigation into the sports retail market, it has been announced that the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has now begun its own investigations into JJB Sports and Sports Direct.
JJB Sports revealed that it had stated its concerns about possible cartel activity in its market to the OFT which in turn has been granted immunity from any financial penalty in the event that competition rules have been broken.
John Warman who holds no qualifications to be an accountant, operated a sole practitioner practice dealing with the affairs of a number of clients. He conspired to steal £2.5m from HMRC was told by the Judge that he lived in a ‘fantasy world’ as he jailed him for eight years. John Warman drove a £165,000 Bentley Arnage and led a lifestyle of the pretence that he had substantial capital in the bank.
HMRC has published its Code of Practice for supervisory purposes for visits to businesses under Money Laundering Regulations (COP28). This Code of Practice tells you what you can expect from HMRC Supervisory staff and what they expect of you when they visit your business under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007.
Gangs are stealing taxpayers’ passwords and submitting claims for tax refunds to be paid to them, HM Revenue and Customs has warned.
A series of attempted fraudulent claims through the self-assessment repayments system has been discovered.
The FSA has banned Cornwall mortgage broker Stephen Sanders for submitting at least three mortgage applications on behalf of customers which he knew contained false and misleading income information.
New Cifas stats paint bleak picture for the UK’s financial institutions and card companies.
Identity fraud surged by nearly three quarters in the first half of the year, driven by continued malicious online activity, and the economic slowdown, according to new figures from UK fraud prevention service Cifas.
The Government’s new strategy for tackling serious organised crime, entitled Extending Our Reach: A Comprehensive Approach to Tackling Serious Organised Crime, has been published.
The strategy endorses many of SOCA’s current ways of working, including by seeking to cement a collaborative approach and to embrace wide-ranging tactics.
Businesses in Northern Ireland are invited to a free one day conference on Tuesday 22 September 2009 to learn how to safeguard themselves against serious organised crime and money laundering.
The event, organised by the Asset Recovery Working Group ‘Payback’ Team, and hosted by the Organised Crime Task Force (OCTF) and SOCA’s UK Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU) is aimed at small and medium sized businesses in Northern Ireland who are covered by the Money Laundering Regulations 2007.