Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
The director of haulage company fraudulently applied for a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan and then applied to dissolve the company has been jailed for 12 months. Kulwinder Sidhu, has been sentenced to 12 months imprisonment, after pleading guilty to offences under the Companies Act and the Fraud Act, having abused the Bounce Back Loan financial…
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Fraudulent activity for asset finance products has seen a 162% increase, according to fraud prevention service Cifas. As a result of the cost-of-living crisis, the asset finance industry is facing significant challenges, with rising costs causing a surge in fraud. The motor finance sector has been particularly hard-hit, seeing a 13% increase in fraud in…
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With the pandemic having accelerated the shift away from face-to-face credit applications, the fraud landscape continues to evolve – and this trend shows no signs of a reversal. Given the inherently remote and anonymous nature of internet-based credit decisioning, this presents higher risks for lenders. The lender landscape has changed too. More consumer payment options,…
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The latest report from the National Audit Office (NAo) into the Covid-19 business support schemes criticizes the Government for not doing more to prevent mistakes and fraudulent claims when rolling out the programs. The NAO said a total of £4.5 billion or nearly 4.6% of the total cost of the Government’s £96.9bn emergency Covid-19 support…
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Financial professionals estimate over £295,000 is lost to invoice fraud per business, every year in the UK, whilst one in five (20%) finance professionals are unaware or unable to even estimate the cost of invoice fraud to their business according to research by Medius. The research found that with mounting pressure on finance teams, they…
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Insolvency and restructuring trade body, R3 has published a policy paper containing a number of recommendations to improve the UK’s fight against fraud. National Crime Agency estimates suggest fraud costs the UK economy around £190 billion a year, while research from the Office for National Statistics showed that instances of fraud increased by 41% between…
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Only 15% of The Bounce Bank Loan Scheme (BBLS) fraud has been investigated by the National Investigation Service in the past two years according to research by international law firm RPC. The Bounce Bank Loan Scheme, common to other COVID related support schemes, was heavily targeted by fraudsters. It was argued by the previous Government…
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A retailer from Walsall has been disqualified from running companies for 9 years after abusing a £45,000 bounce back loan she was not entitled to. Rebecca Simmons was a director of Tia-Bella, trading from premises in Wolverhampton. The company, a specialty balloon and gifts retailer, was incorporated in March 2019 but just over 2 years…
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A Director of Manchester pizza takeaway has been jailed for two years after he fraudulently claimed £20,000 Bounce Back Loan funds. Abdulrazag Zagroba appeared at Manchester Crown Court and was sentenced to 24 months before Recorder Hudson. The case was the first successful criminal prosecution of a bounce bank loan fraudster for the Insolvency Service,…
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According to a global survey by PwC, fraudsters have targeted two-thirds of British companies in the past two years, with cyberattacks the most common crime. In Britain, 64% of big corporations had been affected by fraud and other economic crimes over the period, 10% up on two years ago and significantly above the global average,…
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The Institute of Directors has found that seven in ten (72%) of business leaders view cyber risk as a significant concern for their organisation, with 58% believing that the risk of a cyber attack on their organisation has increased. In its poll of nearly 600 directors, the IoD also found that 54% believe that every…
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Billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money will be ‘lost to fraud and error as a result of the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy’s (BEIS) approach to its Covid-19 business support schemes according to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). Despite providing important support to businesses across the country, BEIS’ latest estimate is that £4.9…
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Risk specialist, Kroll has revealed the results of its latest Global Fraud and Risk Report, showing that organisations around the world are dealing with the rising costs associated with investigating allegations of serious misconduct. The report, based on a survey of over 1,330 senior decision-makers for risk strategy, including CEOs, general counsels, chief compliance officers…
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