The National Fraud Strategy
19 March 2009 The Rt Hon the Baroness Scotland of Asthal QC
Attorney General
I'm delighted to welcome you this evening to the launch of the first National Fraud Strategy.
This is the next critical step forwards towards a goal we all share: a UK where individuals, businesses and taxpayers are safe from the harm caused by fraud.
A shared endeavour
It's a pleasure to see organisations here from across the economy - from retailing to telecommunications, technology to financial services. We're joined by people who help make the law and by those who enforce it.
What unites all of us is the commitment time, investment and talent to stop one of the most costly and corrosive criminal threats facing the UK today.
Just think for a moment about the livelihoods saved and the damage avoided by the efforts of many organisations in this room. I congratulate you all for this.
But there is an important message in the diversity of tonight's event. It says that everyone has a role in tackling fraud, but also that we have a stake in each other's success.
Two years ago, after a root and branch review of its approach to fraud, the Government asked the private sector, the judiciary and many others what they thought should be done.
Here's what the British Bankers Association said:
"The most important recommendation in the Fraud Review, crucial to achieving any long term impact on levels of fraud, is the development of an overarching national strategy which is owned
by a National Fraud Strategic Authority"
I have to tell you that there has never been a stronger case for this common approach - where the efforts of individual organisations are shaped so that they can deliver something more than the sum
of their parts.
Some of the biggest frauds in corporate history have come to light in the last year alone - including the $50bn expected in the case of Bernard Madoff.
The misery caused by fraud can't be calculated; it's ruined so many lives and businesses - it's tragic.
But fraud isn't a story about so-called gentlemen thieves. The role of serious criminals is increasing.
Professional gangs perpetrated nearly three quarters of the large frauds that came to court in 2008 (that's £806 million).
We know from police and from businesses that their sophistication and international reach is growing apace.
Individuals and businesses cannot afford avoidable losses from fraud, least of all in today's difficult economic climate.
And as a society we cannot afford - and we will not accept - the proceeds of fraud are enriching serious criminals who inflict major damage on our society.
The fight against fraud isn't just about the money. The glue that binds a society together is trust. Trust is the fair dealing of others. Trust that the people around us will play honestly by the rules.
At a time when families and businesses are making real sacrifices, the public are right to expect us to stop and punish those who exploit the system. That is why we will give no quarter to fraudsters.
Building on progress
This event shows just how fast the tide is turning.
As Attorney General, I've seen how new investment in the investigation and prosecution of fraud is already holding more, and more serious, fraudsters to account.
The establishment of the National Lead Force is already helping to build capability nationwide and pursue specialist investigations.
In addition, specialist capabilities such as the
• SFO's digital forensic service;
• the SOCA ecrime unit
• the Specialist Crime Division of the Metropolitan Police
• the Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Card Unit
- all of these are helping to ensure that there is no hiding place for serious fraudsters.
The landscape for fraud prosecution has changed radically in recent years.
• The new Fraud Act has cut swathes through previous legislation, bring it up to date to deal with modern threats such as phishing.
• Last year, an independent review confirmed the success of the Fraud Prosecution Service. Under new management, the Serious Fraud Office is today investigating cases worth nearly
£5 billion.
• Today, we announced new powers to help the criminal justice system deliver swifter justice.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Everyday, professionals in the public and private sector act to detect and stop fraud. Their investment in the prevention and deterrence of fraud is vital.
The Strategy: going further, faster
The direction of travel is clear.
But the launch of the National Fraud Strategy shows that, as a community, we are determined to go further, faster.
Whatever any of us do individually, our impact will be greater if we have the support and collaboration of others. If the system works with us, not against us.
Too often in the past, arrangements to support this critical partnership have been loose and ad-hoc.
The Strategy launched today is a platform for a new kind of collaboration - one based on a shared commitment to root-out fraud more aggressively than ever before.
So this isn't a shopping list of new initiatives: it's a call to arms.
The goals set out in the Strategy add up to a radical agenda for change. It includes:
- an intense programme to identify and tackle the most serious risks of fraud;
- a step-change in both the risks we pose to fraudsters and the support we give to victims;
- a coordinated approach to build up the intelligence base and share data more effectively;
- a commitment to build up our ability to prevent fraud, with each partnership playing its full part.
This isn't business and usual. All of us will need to be ready to challenge our old ways of working so that we can confront the threat of fraud comprehensively.
This isn't going to be comfortable for any of us, but it's something we have to do.
So, thank you to all of you, for your support and commitment to help develop one of the most integrated, most ambitious, campaigns to combat fraud in the world. I don't know anyone else
that is doing this.
There is a huge challenge ahead. But I know from the extraordinary collaboration, firstly on the Fraud Review and now the delivery of one of its key recommendations: we are really ready
for this.
Thank you.