Fraud

Criminals stole over £1.2 billion through financial fraud in the UK in 2022, according to the Annual Fraud Report released by UK Finance.

A Highland businessman has been sentenced to 13 months in prison for attempting to defraud an insurance company out of £400,000 by setting fire to his own properties. Michael Maggs, 52, of Beaufort, Culbokie, had been developing three properties at Earlseat Steading, Moyness, near Nairn when f

The UK government has announced that the maximum jail sentence for tax fraud will double from seven to 14 years for the most "egregious" forms of evasion. The Treasury announced the change in last week's spring budget and said it will consult on the introduction of a new criminal offence for pr

The former director of Midas Financial Solutions has been ordered to hand over only £814.35 despite having made more than £13 million from his Ponzi scheme. Scottish businessman Alistair Greig, 69, originally from Cairnbulg in Aberdeenshire, who is currently serving a ten-year priso

The number of alleged fraud cases over £100,000 being heard in Scottish courts rose significantly last year, according to KPMG UK’s latest bi-annual Fraud Barometer. A total of 24 cases totalling £17.4 million reached Scottish courts in 2022, up from 2021, when 16 cases worth &poun

Three former lawyers and two other men who masterminded a £1.48 million bank and property money-laundering operation have been jailed for a total of 30 years and four months.

American federal prosecutors have named a Scottish “ghost” firm in connection to a $500 million (£414m) cryptocurrency scam, alleging it was used to help launder the ill-gotten gains. Two Estonians were arrested by United States authorities and accused with internationally defraudi

MPs have been urged to fix the "dysfunctional" Companies House as it is inadvertently facilitating business fraud in its current state. The warning call came from the anti-fraud leader at the trade body UK Finance during a session of the business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS) committee, in

An HMRC investigation is underway into suspected fraudulent use of the research and development (R&D) tax relief scheme intended to promote investment into technology and innovation. So far, eight individuals have been arrested over their alleged misuse of government tax incentives. They al

A group of 10 organisations including MoneySavingExpert and Carnegie UK Trust have called on the government to take action on fraud in an open letter addressed to the prime minister. The letter dated 14 October 2022 reads:

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has warned that self assessment customers who are starting to think about their annual tax returns for the 2021 to 2022 tax year should guard against being targeted by fraudsters. In the 12 months to August 2022, HMRC responded to more than 180,000 referrals of suspicio

The founder of US nonprofit Feeding Our Future and 46 other defendants face criminal charges for their alleged roles in a $250 million (£226m) fraud scheme that exploited a federally-funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Donald Trump has been accused of committing “astounding” fraud in order to “obtain incredible economic benefit . . . in stark violation of the law” in a legal case seeking $250 million from him. Letitia James, the New York state attorney-general, wants to see the former presi

The number of alleged fraud cases exceeding £100,000 has risen dramatically in the first half of 2022, according to KPMG UK’s latest fraud barometer. A total of 14 cases with a total value of £14 million reached Scottish courts in the first six months of the year &nd

Progress has been made towards recovering £21 million in illicit gains made by the former director of Midas Financial Solutions, who scammed investors out of £13m, the High Court in Edinburgh has heard. The legal bid to recover the £21m came from prosecutors who are trying to seize