back to article Financial fraud hits 23-year high

High-end financial fraud hit a record 23-year high during the course of 2010, management accountancy and consultancy firm KPMG reports. KPMG's latest annual Fraud Barometer report records 314 incidents of fraud with a combined total of £1.4bn, up 16 per cent on 2009. This is the highest level recorded in the 23-year history of …

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  1. James 5
    Flame

    Not surprising...

    ..given the great example set by the upper echelon of bankers.

    Bankers Bonuses = Fraud perpetrated on the UK electorate.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      And MPs

      Don't forget the MPs!

  2. Mystic Megabyte
    Paris Hilton

    Mr.B

    Years ago, six months after it was due, Brent Council (London) rang the VAT office to ask where their VAT rebate was.

    A cheque for one million pounds had been sent by second class post months before.

    Meanwhile in Turkey someone opened a bank account in the name of Mr. Brent Council and cashed the cheque!

    The last I heard each office was blaming the other, does anyone know how it ended?

    Paris, nothing second class goes in her box.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Flame

    Government departments . . .

    Its hardly suprising that the government departments are the hardest hit. We already know that the MP's are commiting fraud with their expenses its not that suprising that other such leaches are also skimming

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    Whut?

    >Professional crooks were blamed for roughly half

    What, our MPs? I didn't think they were that good!

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Assumptions, assumptions

    The conclusion assumes the chance of getting caught and end up at the high court has stayed the same or perhaps gone down. Is this evident one way or another? If not, please refrain from drawing unsupportable conclusions.

  6. Inachu
    Pint

    Ha!

    As many top rich people would say:

    "It is only a fraud only IF you get caught."

    That is how most white collar criminals act and get away with things and there are so many of them doing so much that the backlog will take years to catch up to them and by then it may be too late to ever catch them. I am sure all the big major financial wizard companies are still complicit in the shady dealings as they vote republican for hyper capitalist idealisms bottom line to only make stock holders financially secure and bankrupt anyone else.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    KPMG sour graping?

    Weren't these people working with "creative accounting" <ahem-cough-cough> techniques with the likes of enron?

    (Time will tell why KPMG is seeking moral high ground)

  8. bugalugs
    Boffin

    Analysis please.

    "Cases of fraud perpetrated by managers were much higher by value, averaging £7.2m per case against £1.6m for employees." ( managers rip off share-holders with terrible effect on employees ) " Never a key sector under Labour, many fraud squads were either disbanded or demoted from 1997 to 2010. " ( Never ! ) " ..one area where the corporate world seems to have had some success tackling financial crime is in mortgage fraud. " ( nice low fruit )

    " One of the largest cases to appear in the KPMG Fraud Barometer involves alleged fraudster Michael Richards, 48...yet to reach trial Mr Richards is accused of making fraudulent bids worth £103m in tax breaks on research into green technologies...case is unlikely to reach court until 2012. " ( you or I would have been torn a new one already ) The Telegraph 13 Jan 2011.

    Soooo, how much porridge is being dished out for this sort of crime ? How many years per million ? Does high-end fiduciary crime, in fact, pay ? Enquiring minds etc.

    someone like him should do it.

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