Value of fraud bucks rising national trend
THE value of fraud cases in the region fell nearly 40% in the first half of this year, bucking a rising national trend.
KPMG’s Fraud Barometer, which measures fraud cases with losses of £100,000 or more reaching court, has found that the value of fraud rose by 22% in the first half of this year to £385m.
With 160 cases, fraud volumes remained virtually identical to the first half of 2014, meaning that the average value of fraud has increased from £2m to £2.4m, a 21% increase.
In the North West however there were 20 cases with a combined value of £16.8m between January and June 2015. This is a fall of £10.9m, or 39% compared to the first half of 2014.
Martin Dougall, KPMG’s head of forensic in the North said: “While the total number and value of fraud cases seen across the North West region has fallen over the last six months, a more in-depth look at the figures paints a picture of businesses being hit hard by unscrupulous management (and particularly male management) who have exploited their positions within their companies to engage in illegal activities.
“Fraud perpetrated by customers of businesses also doubled over the course of the period reviewed, all of which should act as a trigger for organisations to re-examine their risk procedures and policies, and if necessary, implement stricter controls both internally and externally.”
Cases to reach court included:
Two Merseyside men responsible for a £4.6m fraud which saw hundreds of fake magazine adverts sold to small businesses up and down the country; 10 people being convicted of conspiracy to defraud in a scam which centred around stage-managed accidents involving buses on routes in the Chester area. In each of seven collisions a car, and in one case a van deliberately drove into a bus. In total, 218 bus passengers submitted personal injury claims totalling more than £1m as a result of the collisions.
KPMG said the most common perpetrator of fraud within a family business was the baby boomer who, perhaps frustrated by the increasingly common wait to receive their inheritance, seemingly took matters into their own hands. By value, 72% of familial fraud was committed by fraudsters aged over 45.
