Fraud Intelligence

The UK Government proposes targeted bans of ransomware payments by public sector and critical national infrastructure entities, a payment notification regime for other organisations, along with mandatory incident reporting. James Broomhall of Grosvenor Law discusses complexities of the arguments for and against ransomware payment bans, and suggests principles that should guide policy development.

A successful fraud is, by definition, a governance failure. Yet the distinctions and interplay between governance and internal controls are often insufficiently understood, let alone functioning well in practice. Dr Rasha Kassem of Aston University outlines a layered top-down approach, with the mechanisms and frameworks that enable effective governance to shape culture and deter wrongdoing.

Defendants accused of serious and complex fraud will no longer be tried by a jury in England & Wales, under changes, announced on 2 December, designed to ease a massive backlog of cases in the criminal justice system.

Look out for fraudsters; certainly, but look in as well. Executives' and line workers' interests may conflict with their employer's goals to its disbenefit for reasons beyond or within its control. Either way, Keith Nuthall finds the signs will be there if you know where to look.

The European Union (EU) is to require payment service providers (PSPs) to refund customers who fall victim to payments fraud - including when the PSP has failed to undertake proper due diligence on their customer's payee, ensuring matches on name and unique identifier - under a deal on reform of the bloc's 10-year-old payment services legislation.

A commissioner appointed by the British government to investigate the UK£10.9 billion (US$14.5 billion) of public money spent responding to the Covid-19 pandemic that was lost to fraud and error says "much of the shortfall is now beyond recovery".

The UK government unveiled a long-awaited anti-corruption strategy on 8 December [2025], with an annual budget of UK£235 million (US$313 million) to meet 123 commitments, some already ongoing.

English courts have seen an uptick in fraud claims since 2020, while subsequent reforms and caselaw have exacerbated ­these risks. James Evison and Miranda Joseph of Stevens & Bolton explain legal pitfalls and suggested steps for boards as well as shareholders.