South East is nation's fraud capital
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An
accountant jailed for siphoning almost a quarter of a million
pounds from a Medway car dealership helped the south east become
the nation's fraud capital in 2010.
The 38-year-old wrote out a number of cheques from the company
account which he then paid into his own bank accounts. He also used
the company account to pay off his credit card bills. He stole
£245,627 from the company between May 2004 and April 2009.
According to the latest KPMG Fraud Barometer, the south east was
the worst hit in 2010 and is now the UK's fraud hotspot.
The region recorded 143 cases - a staggering 80 per cent by
value of all cases - in 2010, up from 107 the previous year
and the highest figure since the barometer was founded 23 years
ago.
One of the largest cases was worth £103m, in which a 48-year-old
man made fraudulent bids for tax breaks on research into green
technologies.
Hitesh Patel, KPMG forensic partner, said: "Over 45 per cent of
the number of cases that reached court last year were heard in
courts in London and the South East and accounted for 80 per cent
of all UK fraud that took place in the UK last year by value
"With the average fraud in London and the South East in 2010
worth over £7.5 million, the fraudsters are becoming increasingly
sophisticated, focussing on the big institutions where a successful
hit can see them walking away with large amounts of cash."
As austerity measures begin to bite, with rising taxes and
unemployment, the public sector is more vulnerable than ever to
fraudsters. It was affected by 42 per cent of all cases nationwide,
costing the taxpayer £571m, a fifth higher than the previous
year.
"The greater concentration of population in the South East means
a larger number of opportunists and organised fraudsters targeting
social welfare budgets," Mr Patel added.
Monday, January 10 2011
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