Fraud

(asked on 11th May 2022) - View Source

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, what the estimated value of the reports of serious or complex fraud, as defined within the remit of the Serious Fraud Office, has been in each of the last ten calendar years.


Answered by
Alex Chalk Portrait
Alex Chalk
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
This question was answered on 20th May 2022

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) does not hold the data on the estimated value of fraud reported to the Office over the last 10 years.

Referrals received by the SFO, whilst alleging crime, often do not provide an estimate of loss or actual loss reported. Identifying the true value of reported fraud requires investigation.

The SFO receives approximately 1,200 referrals of alleged criminality every year. These range in seriousness and come from a variety of sources, including the public, whistle-blowers and corporate referrals.

Every referral the SFO receives is researched and/or assessed to help determine if it is a matter that the SFO should investigate.

The SFO only takes on only the most complex fraud and bribery cases. Should a referral not meet the reasonable suspicion threshold and the Director’s Statement of Principle, it may be referred to another law enforcement agency or discontinued.

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