Financial

The UK has launched a world-first bank transfer fraud refund scheme after more than two years in the works and last-minute changes influenced by industry lobbying and pressure from ministers.

From Monday, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) is requiring more than 1,500 banks, fintechs and other payment firms to reimburse victims of authorised push payment (APP) fraud up to a limit of £85,000 per claim.

The Financial Conduct Authority has made a call to action as it looks to work with the industry to tackle financial crime.

In a speech delivered at the Westminster Legal Policy Forum keynote seminar, Andrea Bowe, director of the specialist directorate, said the dial was beginning to shift on the fight against fraud but warned “we should be under no illusion about the scale of the problem to fix".

Concerns have been raised regarding the inquiry into a £1 billion banking fraud case at HBOS, after it was revealed that evidence is still being received in its eighth year.

Former high court judge Dame Linda Dobbs, who was appointed in 2017 to investigate Lloyds Banking Group’s alleged cover-up of the scam, has been warned by critics that the protracted process benefits alleged perpetrators and prolongs victims’ suffering.

The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has said it will scale back mandatory fraud compensation despite a surge in APP scams.

The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has confirmed it intends to slash the maximum amount of fraud compensation banks and payment providers will have to pay out to scam victims.

https://moneyweek.com/personal-finance/savings/payments-regulator-slashes-maximum-fraud-compensation-limit

New figures published by KPMG UK show that money laundering has been the most common fraud type by value in the last six months, with nine cases heard in UK Crown Courts so far this year worth over £128 million

The number of fraud cases in UK Crown Courts increased by 16% in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2023, with money laundering representing the highest value fraud cases, according to new data from KPMG UK’s mid-year fraud barometer.

Thomas Kalaris was found by the Upper Tribunal in London to have been dishonest when interviewed by the City watchdog.

Former Barclays wealth boss Thomas Kalaris has lost his appeal against a decision banning him from holding senior roles in the industry after he was found to have acted dishonestly when questioned about the bank’s capital raising at the height of the financial crisis.

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/uk-news/2024/08/27/former-top-barclays-banker-loses-appeal-against-fca-ban-on-holding-senior-roles/

The Financial Conduct Authority has fined PwC £15mn for failing to report to the regulator its belief that London Capital & Finance might have been involved in fraudulent activity.

This is the first time the regulator has fined an audit firm and comes after PwC encountered “significant” issues throughout their 2016 audit of LCF.

A former investment firm director from Derbyshire has become subject to stringent bankruptcy restrictions after duping people into handing over money in a £9m investment fraud.

Andrew Paul Bird, of Quarndon, was handed the maximum 15-year restriction after the Official Receiver discovered he had knowingly misled investors and exposed them to the risk of losing money for his personal gain.

The Treasury has reportedly raised questions with the UK payments regulator over the timetable for its new fraud refund rules that have stirred alarm among banks and fintechs.

The measures, due to force payment firms to refund victims of authorised push payment (APP) fraud up to a limit of £415,000, have prompted concern from both the former Conservative and current Labour governments over fears they could encourage more scams and be unaffordable for smaller businesses.

https://www.cityam.com/treasury-questions-payments-regulator-on-deadline-for-controversial-fraud-refund-rules/

A group of over 400 investors in the fraudulent cryptocurrency OneCoin have obtained Worldwide Freezing Orders at the High Court in London against numerous individuals and companies including: the founders of OneCoin, Dr Ruja Ignatova and Karl Sebastian Greenwood as well as the companies through which the OneCoin fraud was allegedly perpetrated, OneCoin Limited and One Network Services Limited.

https://www.thearmchairtrader.com/crypto/onecoin-fraud-crypto-class-action/