Fraud cases hit 21-year record
The number of fraud cases going through the UK's courts hit a 21-year record high in the first six months of this year, a top accountancy firm has said.
KPMG said there were 163 charges of serious fraud - where more than £100,000 is embezzled - in the first half of this year, with a combined value of £636 million.
If the figure is matched in the second half of the year, it will exceed the highest annual total of £1.2 billion, recorded in 1995.
Investors were the worst hit, suffering losses of £321 million - more than half the total money in just 17 cases - KPMG's fraud barometer found.
The Government was the next biggest victim, with almost £153 million taken in 38 cases. It lost out mostly through tax and duty evasion or fraudulent benefit claims.
Financial institutions suffered 44 cases of fraud, totalling more than £111 million.