Nature, Extent and Economic Impact of Fraud in the UK
ACPO commissioned this review which took Prof. Michael Levi from Cardiff University and his team a year to complete and write - see www.ACPO.police.uk/policies.asp At 112 pages long it makes for an interesting, if not lengthy read – putting a first ‘stake in the ground’ for measuring the fraud losses for UK PLC as a whole. The report, published in February 2007, pulls together the best quantitative information and a significant number of detailed and informed estimates of the cost of fraud in the UK in 2005, and places this at £13.9Bn (£13,900,000,000 – which is more than enough to pay every board member of every the FTSE 100 and every premiership footballer! ) This figure is a conservative estimate, with the real cost likely to be nearer £20Bn each year, says the report.
The breakdown of the fraud loss is: -
| Financial Services fraud |
£1.005 billion |
| Non-financial services business |
£0.935 billion |
| Private sector losses unattributed |
£1.821 billion |
| Fraud Against private individuals |
£2.750 billion |
| National Public Sector fraud |
£6.434 billion |
| Local public bodies |
£0.040 billion |
| Public & Private sector costs of acting against fraud |
£0.937 billion |
The report does not strive to make recommendations for addressing the problem or what should be done about fraud in general – but it does press hard for a central body to be established to champion improved reporting and recording of fraud. |
