ABSTRACT

International efforts to tackle financial crime have in the most part concentrated on money laundering arising from the manufacture and sale of illegal narcotics and the financing of terrorism, as outlined in the two previous chapters. This is largely due to the United States of America (USA) led ‘war on drugs’ and the ‘financial war on terrorism’. Fraud however is another financial crime of epic proportions and as noted by Wright is ‘becoming the crime of choice for organised crime and terrorist funding’. 1 This chapter therefore identifies the anti-fraud measures adopted in the United Kingdom (UK). Its primary focus will be to consider the strategic goals of the UK’s fraud policy in light of the publication of the Fraud Review in 2006 and the National Fraud Strategy and attempt to quantify the extent of the problem. The chapter will then consider background to the policy of criminalising and regulating fraud, plus evaluate the financial institutions and regulatory bodies involved. Finally, we look at how the proceeds of fraudulent activity are recovered, including a brief analysis of sentencing options and practices. Fraud is increasingly being committed through the use of information and communication technology (ICT) and this chapter also considers this element of cybercrime.