Crime and Policing

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has dropped a 10-year probe into former FTSE 100 miner ENRC, saying it does not have enough evidence to prosecute.

Prosecutors had been looking into the suspected payment of bribes by the company and people linked to it in the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 2009 and 2012.

https://www.centralfifetimes.com/news/national/23745730.serious-fraud-office-drops-10-year-probe-former-ftse-100-miner-enrc/

A corrupt police employee illegally accessed sensitive information and tipped-off a criminal friend about a massive, secret investigation into serious and organised crime.

Natalie Mottram, 24, from Warrington, was employed by Cheshire Police but was on secondment and working as an intelligence analyst at the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU) when she was arrested by National Crime Agency officers on 12 June 2020.

https://nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/news/operation-venetic-corrupt-police-worker-admits-tipping-off-criminal-over-secret-nationwide-investigation

The United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) is set to increase its cryptocurrency fraud investigation unit as part of wider plans to halt the increase in financial crimes.

The new move will see the agency hire four new senior investigators to join the financial crime unit to tackle all forms of corruption and fraud cases on the blockchain.

https://cryptonews.com/news/uk-set-expand-its-national-crypto-crime-unit-as-organized-blockchain-fraud-surges.htm

Fraud is one of the most popular methods now used to fund terrorist activities. But the connection between fraud and terrorism financing in the UK has been overlooked by successive governments, despite an acknowledgement of that link.

https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/terrorists-using-fraud-fund-activities-153808009.html/

Hostile states are using organised crime gangs to carry out illegal activity in the UK, the head of the National Crime Agency (NCA) has warned.

Director-general Graeme Biggar highlighted "the emerging links between serious and organised crime and hostile states" in a speech outlining the agency's annual assessment of crime threats to Britain.

https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/hostile-states-using-organised-crime-121400209.html

Nick Ephgrave QPM has been announced as the new Director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) by the Attorney General, Victoria Prentis KC MP.

Mr Ephgrave was selected following an open and transparent competition and will take up the appointment at the end of September for an initial term of five years. He will replace the outgoing Director, Lisa Osofsky.

The @UKSFO has published MoU with @TheFCA replacing the Joint Protocol from 2014. The MoU entitled "Principles of co-operation between the SFO and FCA" is to establish a framework for cooperation, coordination and information sharing.

https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/corporate/mou-fca-sfo-principles-cooperation.pdf

City of London Police has awarded Capita a contract to deliver customer contact and victim engagement services for its new fraud reporting service.

They have agreed on a deal to run from 2024 for five years at a value of approximately £50 million, with option to extend for two more, adding £20 million.

City of London Police has appointed two new suppliers to provide the fraud and cybercrime reporting service which will replace Action Fraud.

https://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/news/city-of-london/news/2023/june/new-suppliers-appointed-for-action-fraud-service-replacement/?mc_cid=c5bf275671&mc_eid=72e89a1d85

It is become a feature of the modern world; you receive a text or email from an unfamiliar sender, blue hyperlink aglow, and the hairs on the back of your neck tingle. Are you about to fall victim to a scam?

https://www.ftadviser.com/companies/2023/05/18/govt-fraud-proposals-unlikely-to-impact-organised-crime/