THE FRAUD Prosecution Service of England and Wales had an almost 90 per cent conviction rate, according to its assistant director, David Levy. He told the cross-border conference on fraud that about 70 per cent of those arrested under anti-fraud legislation pleaded guilty.
The specialised office was set up in 2006 as part of the Crown Prosecution Service, and handled fraud cases worth over £750,000, or complex or sensitive cases. The office consisted of a group of dedicated and specialist lawyers and caseworkers who only handled fraud. It worked in the UK with the police, and liaised with the appropriate authorities in other jurisdictions when dealing with international fraud.
In the last year it had dealt with countries as diverse as Hong Kong and the Virgin Islands, the US and Pakistan, EU members states and British states like Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man which had different accounting and legal systems.
Among the cases dealt with were internet fraud, chip and pin fraud and insurance fraud.
The success of the office was due to identifying problems early, early use of expert evidence where necessary, the involvement of specialists like accountants, psychiatrists and surveyors, careful case planning.
Referring to the problem of bribery and corruption, he said that the law on this went back to 1889, and the case law could be 100 years old. However, a new law on bribery was in preparation which would be very simple.
He said that the crime of conspiracy to defraud had been due for abolition, but had been reprieved for a period of three years, and had proved very useful, leading to a number of guilty pleas and convictions.
Anti-money laundering legislation was also very effective.