Drastic fall in Midlands fraud activity – KPMG report

RESEARCH from accountancy and advisory firm KPMG has revealed that fraud activity in the Midlands has seen the largest percentage fall across any of the UK regions.

The number of cases fell by 33%, from 24 to 16, between the first six months of 2013 and the same time period in 2014.

The aggregate value of fraud cases also tumbled, falling by 86% to £20.7m in the first half of 2014 from £148.5m in the corresponding period last year.

While low value frauds (less than £1m) remained static, there has been significant progress in the mid-value crimes (£1m – £10m) which fell by 80%.

The research indicates that local government has been more successful in detecting fraud activity with the fall in both volume and total value of fraud suffered by these bodies driving the significant decrease in fraud across the region.

Simon Albrighton, forensic partner at KPMG in the Midlands, said: “It is encouraging to see that fraud activity has dramatically fallen in the region, which can potentially be attributed to improved economic prospects and better detection systems in place at businesses and financial institutions.

“Despite the drop, there are still worrying cases from the Midlands where fraudsters have abused their positions of power or trust to con others.”

Nationally, fraud cases totalling £317m were recorded in the first half of 2014, according to KPMG’s latest Fraud Barometer. The figure represents a 39% drop compared to the same period, last year, but the number of frauds has risen from 148 to 159.

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