Criminal gangs steal £2bn through furlough fraud – Nicola Finnerty quoted in City AM

Nicola Finnerty, Partner in our Criminal Litigation team has been quoted in City AM following reports from HMRC that between 5% & 10% of the £39bn handed out by government to support workers during the COVID-19 pandemic has been claimed fraudulently.

Nicola quoted:

The most immediate concern is likely to be with the taxman and the reputational damage that may follow. However, the knottiest problem may well be how to manage potentially criminal funds which have entered, and possibly exited, a company's accounts amounting to a criminal offence."

The coronavirus crisis continues to put a significant strain on public resources and there is likely to be little, and reducing, sympathy for companies that have incorrectly claimed funds and have not put in place steps to undo that error."

This article was first published by City AM on 23 October 2020 which you can read in full by clicking here.

Further information

For further information on the issues raised in this news article, please contact a member of our criminal litigation team.

About the author

Nicola Finnerty is a Partner in the Criminal Litigation department. She has experience of fraud, corruption  (including the Bribery Act) and cartel matters, financial compliance, money laundering, asset seizure and confiscation cases, through to sexual offence cases, drugs, murder and offensive weapon crimes.