Fraud Intelligence

Second-guessing where fraudsters might strike next has long been a hit and miss affair but armed with artificial intelligence, better can be expected of predictive analytics, finds Keith Nuthall, in Ottawa; Peter Taberner, who writes from Leicester, UK: and Brenda Dionisi, based in Milan.

Global bank HSBC has agreed to pay €267.5 million (US$331.6 million) to the French treasury to settle a long-running case of alleged dividend tax payment fraud, Pascal Prache, the lead prosecutor at the National Financial Prosecutor's Office (Parquet National Financier - PNF), has said.

A pair of judgments abolishing the 'shareholder rule' mean shareholders now face greater difficulties in accessing documents that could be helpful to their case, while another decision has boosted certainty around litigation privilege for administrators - particularly where an administration has arisen out of financial mismanagement and fraud. Helen Biggin of Vedder Price highlights significant changes to English privilege rules affecting investigations, legal proceedings and settlement discussions.

A former High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy is facing possible fraud charges after his arrest in Belgium over alleged breaches of Belgian public procurement laws.