Bernie Madoff, a Wall Street financier who was handed a 150-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to a Ponzi scheme in 2009, has died in prison. Mr Madoff’s firm, Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities, became one of the largest market-makers and were investigated on eight separate occasions by the US Securities and Exchange Commission because […]
Can a company be prosecuted for failing to prevent money laundering?
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently announced an investigation into NatWest Bank’s alleged failure to comply with money laundering regulations. The case concerns a number of high value deposits into customer bank accounts amounting to £365 million. The FCA alleges that NatWest failed to adequately monitor and scrutinise this potentially criminal activity between 2011 and […]
Romance fraud on the rise during Covid-19 lockdown
Romance fraud has been on the rise during lockdown in the UK, as people are increasingly being scammed out of money by others who are pretending to pursue a relationship. According to a report from UK Finance, there was a 20% increase in bank transfer fraud linked to romance schemes in 2020 compared to 2019. […]
Banker jailed for manipulating interest rates to have criminal case reviewed
Tom Hayes, the first banker to be jailed for rigging interest rates, is due to have his conviction reviewed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), a body set up to review allegations of miscarriages of justice. In the 2015, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) named Mr Hayes as the ‘ringmaster’ of an international conspiracy […]
Can Business Owners be Prosecuted for Fraud and other Crimes?
One of the main benefits of setting up a limited company is limited liability which means that the business is its own legal entity, separate from its directors and shareholders. In theory, this means that they cannot be personally pursued for the debts of the company, a concept sometimes poetically referred to as ‘the corporate […]
Fraud regarding claims under Coronavirus Government assistance measures
Concerns surrounding the legitimacy of matters such as Bounce Back Loans in the UK are growing, as it has been reported that an increasing number of shelf companies are being bought for the sole purpose of gaining access to the government backed scheme. The Bounce Back Loan Scheme was launched in May 2020, intending to […]
Director disqualification for manufacturer who abused loan agreements
A director of a manufacturing company has been banned from acting as a company director for 8 years after having been found to have wrongly diverted more than half a million pounds of business finance. The individual concerned was a director of a company supplying products for the construction industry. He was found to have […]
Bounce Back Loan Fraud Could Cost UK Billions
Up to 60% of emergency pandemic loans made under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme are unlikely to ever be paid back, according to recent findings from the government’s spending watchdog. The Bounce Back Loan Scheme was launched in May 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and allows small and medium-sized businesses to borrow between […]
Blue badges: Who can use them, when and the consequences for breaching the rules.
A Blue Badge is available to those who suffer from certain disabilities which affect their mobility. It allows the individual to park in specified places which are closer to their destination. However, there has been a sharp increase in the number of people being arrested for blue badge misuse. Eligibility for a Blue Badge You […]
