CITY AM – UK Pushed To Tackle Growing Fraud Epidemic 

Prosecutions fail to keep up with the UK’s growing ‘fraud epidemic’

CITYAM SAYS The UK government has been urged to do more to crack down on fraud after new data showed the number of high-value criminal cases reaching the courts has stayed flat despite a sharp rise in fraud.

UK crown courts heard 226 fraud cases last year compared with 221 in 2022, according to new figures from KPMG’s Fraud Barometer, which tracks cases worth £100,000 and above. KPMG recorded 298 such cases in 2021, a 66 per cent increase from 2020. 

The total value of last year’s cases was £993m, down from £1.1bn in 2022.

According to the latest figures from the Home Office, fraud now accounts for more than 40 per cent of all crime in England and Wales. 

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