The UK has launched a new joint fraud task force that will include representatives from banks, regulators, government agencies and the police.

The task force aims to combat financial fraud, which is reckoned to cost the UK at least £24 billion each year.

Members

The purposes of the task force are to establish and maintain fast-track intelligence sharing between the members and provide a unified response to the fight against fraud.

It will include the UK’s major banks and payment providers, Financial Fraud Action UK, Financial Conduct Authority, City of London Police, Metropolitan Police Services, National Police Chiefs Council, National Crime Agency, Bank of England and fraud prevention agency, Cifas.

Serious risks

“It is only by systematically sharing information and data between banks and law enforcement investigators that we will be able to identify suspicious financial flows, track fraudulent funds through the system, and prove fraudsters are profiting from such illegal activity to support convictions,” the UK’s Home Secretary, Theresa May, said in a speech launching the task force.

The scale and volume of illicit financial activity in the UK, “brings serious risks of economic crime and real opportunities for criminals to defraud hardworking taxpayers of their savings and earnings,” she added.

Categories: Trade Based Financial crimes News