Cost of Scottish high-value fraud halves - KPMG

Ken Milliken
Ken Milliken

A dramatic fall in the amount lost to high-value fraud was recorded by Scottish firms last year, according to KPMG.

The amount of high-value fraud in Scotland during 2014 almost halved to £4.7 million, the accountancy giant’s analysis showed, with the cost of cases amounting to £100,000 and over down 46 per cent from £8.6m in 2014.

Across the UK, the value of fraud cases prosecuted rose from £717m in 2014 to £732m last year.



The number of fraud cases north of the border also fell from 13 to 12, but the volume of scams committed by staff and management against their own employers increased from six in 2014 to 11 last year.

In the public sector, £2m was lost to fraud in 2015 compared to less than £700,000 the previous year.

A senior NHS worker from Ayrshire was jailed for stealing surgical equipment worth £1.3m and two council bosses received prison sentences for abusing their position and taking bribes from contractors.

A Glasgow book-keeper was convicted of stealing £220,000 from a client after claiming he had won the lottery to explain his sudden wealth.

Ken Milliken, head of forensic at KPMG in Scotland, said: “We report on the high-value cases which have come to court.

“We know from our work with organisations across all industries that there are many more instances of insider fraud and embezzlement.

“Organisations, particularly within the public sector, need to look at their own internal processes to make sure that opportunistic staff of all levels cannot exploit security gaps.”

Mr Milliken added: “The threat may not be where you expect it to be.”

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