Risk Management articles
Serious Fraud Office investigations widens
by Tim Prior LLB AIRM, Senior Risk Management Consultant
In the first half of 2006, 123 fraud cases worth an estimated £650 million were pursued through the UK courts. Against this background, one of the biggest ongoing fraud investigations of the year is being undertaken into the alleged over-valuation of commercial and residential property. However, it is not only valuers who need to be on their guard. A recent survey of the construction industry finds that fraud is on the increase.
So far 26 properties in London, Birmingham, Manchester Leicestershire and Hertfordshire have been raided by the Serious Fraud Office in pursuit of its investigation. Some sources expect the size of the fraud to reach £100 million.
The next time you carry out a money laundering check – don’t just treat it as a tick box exercise. Make sure that you are carrying out all necessary checks properly. Do the client’s instructions make commercial sense? Is there anything about the client or the brief that makes you suspicious? Follow your instincts. If you have reservations, don’t just dismiss them out of hand - act on them. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Unfortunately it is not just external checks that are important. The survey of the construction industry also reports that much economic crime is perpetrated by people on the inside, with project managers often involved. All firms are built on trust. However, that trust should not be blind and unquestioning. Are your internal audit checks up to the mark?
|
Surveyors
|
Travelers Insurance Company Ltd.