Media Centre
Fraud Updates
PCB News
Bookmark this page to stay informed with any breaking news regarding fraud.
If you would like to be added to our mailing list for future updates please click here. Alternatively, if you would like more information regarding any of the items on this page, or indeed any fraud related matter, please contact Steven Philippsohn or Anthony Riem.
Use the links on the left hand side of this page to view archived news.
Fraud Updates 2007
23 January
It has been reported that the Indonesian government was yesterday granted a freezing order by a Guernsey court over a bank account containing tens of millions of dollars, alleged to have been hidden on the island by Hutomo Mandala Putra, the son of the country’s former dictator.
The Indonesian government has also been granted the right to become a third party to the case in which Mr Hutomo is suing a branch of BNP Paribas for refusing to transfer at least €36 million from the account.
This case shows how a claimant can seek to freeze assets in the name of a third party where the claimant believes that it has beneficial ownership of the money.
22 January
Swedish bank Nordea believes that 250 of their customers have been victims of identity theft after falling victim to phishing emails.
Emails purportedly from the bank were sent to clients which encouraged them to download a 'spam fighting' application. The computers of those who downloaded the application were targeted and when they attempted to log in to the Nordea online banking site they were redirected to a false home page. The fraudsters were able to ‘read’ the keystrokes when the log-in information was entered and this was then used to take money from their accounts.
Most of the victims of this scam did not have antivirus on their computers but the bank has refunded all of those who where affected.
Nordea were able to identify several false transactions due to the large sums involved. However, many small transactions over a 15 month period went unnoticed.
As this case has shown, monitoring activity on customer accounts is not always enough and additional safeguards are necessary.
18 January
The Serious Crime Bill was presented to Parliament this week. The Bill proposes a reduction of restrictions on public authorities to enable them to disclose data for the purposes of preventing fraud.
The Bill also proposes the extension of powers to certain authorities in respect of restraining the suspected proceeds of crime as well as searching for and seizing suspected criminal cash.
These proposed methods for combating fraud and other serious crime are similar to those that have been successfully applied in the civil courts for many years. Disclosure orders can be used to obtain evidence about the fraud and the whereabouts of assets. Search and Seizure Orders can be used to obtain evidence from the fraudster’s premises and freezing orders can be used to prevent the assets being dissipated pending Judgment.
12 January
The government this afternoon announced proposals to merge the Asset Recovery Agency and the Serious Organised Crime Agency. The basis of doing so is to enable civil recovery proceedings to be brought in support of criminal prosecutions.
The government's proposal recognises that the remedies offered by the Civil Courts to identify and freeze a fraudster's assets without notice to him is the single most effective way of tackling fraud.
| February 2007 | November 2006 |