Penalising fraud in the 21st century

The effective penalisation of fraud in the UK has traditionally required parallel proceedings – in the criminal courts and in the civil courts. The recommendations of the Fraud Review could revolutionize this approach by the formation of a Financial Court, which would transcend the historic demarcation between the civil and criminal courts’ jurisdiction. Tony Lewis of Peters and Peters reviews existing arrangements and finds in favour of the new proposal.

Tony Lewis is a partner at Peters and Peters. He may be contacted on tel: +44 (0) 20 7629 7991; email: tlewis@petersandpeters.co.uk

Context

The Fraud Review was published on 24 July 2006 by the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith. It was commissioned by the Government to consider the detection, investigation and prosecution of fraud, and the scope for improving the current arrangements, with the objective of reducing the extent of fraud and minimising the harm it causes the economy and wider society. Specifically the Fraud Review was tasked to address the following: the scale of the problem, the appropriate role for Government in dealing with fraud, and how resources could be spent to maximise value for money across the system.