Fraud up 50% in first half of 2008

Fraud cases, where the charges brought in the Crown Court exceeded UK£100,000, reached a total of UK£630m in the first half of 2008, a 50% rise on the previous six months, according to KPMG Forensic. The KPMG Fraud Barometer registered UK£350m worth of offences against the financial sector, the highest figure in the 20-year history of the study. Two major cases contributed to the total: an alleged UK£200m bid to hack into the systems of Sumitomo Masui Banking Corporation and an attempt on HSBC’s securities services division. In the whole of 2007, fraud against financial institutions was UK£37m. Nine cases of mortgage fraud, worth over UK£20m went to court in the first half of this year against 10 cases that amounted to UK£3.7m in the previous 12 months.