Uptick in money laundering cases reaching courts marks positive milestone in battle against illicit finance

• Total volume of alleged fraud cases over £100k in the first half of the year reached 122
• Compared to the same period in 2023, the total value of fraud was down 14%

New figures published today from KPMG UK’s mid-year Fraud Barometer show that money laundering has been the most common fraud type by value in the last six months. Nine cases have been heard in UK Crown Courts collectively worth £128.2 million so far this year. With the UK regularly cited as a hub for illicit finance, it is positive that more suspected perpetrators of this crime are appearing to be prosecuted.

The research, which records alleged fraud cases with a value of £100k and above heard in UK Crown Courts, has revealed 122 fraud cases in total were heard in the first six months of the year. This is up from 105 cases during the same period in 2023. By contrast, fraud value was just over £305 million, a 14% drop compared to the first six months of the previous year, when the total fraud value stood at £354.2 million.

Commenting on the findings, Roy Waligora, Partner and Head of UK Investigations at KPMG, said:

“Money laundering continues to be a problem in the UK due to the complexity and sophistication of financial systems that can be exploited for illegal activities. It will be interesting to see if the relatively new requirement for overseas entities to be registered at Companies House will result even more of these cases reaching the courts soon.” 

Government and the public bear the brunt of fraud

The public sector has been the biggest victim of fraud in terms of value so far in 2024. 26 fraud cases related to the government have been heard, with a combined value of £193.4 million, an increase of 30% compared to the same period in 2023. The general public also continues to bear the brunt of fraud, with 41 cases totalling £33.2 million being heard in the UK's courts during the first half of 2024.

Roy Waligora observed:

“Greater focus on fraud in the public sector may have contributed to more effective identification and prosecution of fraudulent activities against the government. This proactive approach to tackling fraud may also result in a higher number of similar cases being seen during the second half of the year. However, UK courts remain under pressure to address high volumes of fraud at a time when the UK justice system is also under pressure to tackle hard crime. The widely expected publication of guidance on what constitutes ‘reasonable procedures’ by Government will kickstart the timeline for corporates to implement improved fraud management and may make the prosecution of fraud somewhat simpler.”

Account takeover fraud reigns supreme

When examining the most common type of fraud, account takeover fraud was the highest by volume in 2024 so far. 16 cases with a combined value of £7.2 million, have reached the UK Crown Courts in the last six months. This was followed by fraud related to counterfeit, pirated, or below stated quality goods (15 cases) and embezzlement (15 cases).

Roy Waligora added:

“Methods for perpetrating account takeover fraud are becoming more sophisticated, so it is promising to see that so many of these criminals are being brought to justice. However, with UK Finance reporting¹ 121,650 cases of account takeover fraud in the whole of 2023, it’s clear that only a tiny fraction of these criminals are brought to justice.”