Hugo Plowman, Chair of the Dispute Resolution department, has been extensively quoted in an article in The Times which explores how the City of London Police is teaming up with the private sector to recover losses for victims of fraud.
The article notes that fraud accounts for about 40 per cent of all crime in England and Wales, with an estimated 3.2 million offences each year, costing society £6.8 billion. In the first half of 2024 more than £570 million was lost to fraud in the UK.
Hugo explains that the lack of fraud prosecutions is due to the “sheer scale” of the problem coupled with the lack of resources, complexity of cases and evidential difficulties. “It is impossible and unrealistic to expect all matters to be the subject of prosecutions,” he argues, suggesting that it is right to focus on asset recovery.
“Without effective public and private sector collaboration, we aren’t going to dent the epidemic of fraud in this country,” he says, adding that victims of fraud are increasingly bringing their own civil recovery actions with the help of litigation funders.
“The challenge will be in how law enforcement authorities and private actors can share information that is obtained through these means as there are various legal restrictions that would need to be overcome,” he says.
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