William Boyce QC and Rachna Gokani are wrong in their analysis of how the Crown Prosecution Service handles complex fraud cases.
The Specialist Fraud Division of the CPS saw more than 9,000 prosecutions last year. This is a considerable rise over the past five years as our remit and expertise have grown, with the addition of HM Revenue & Customs and Department for Work and Pensions cases, alongside complex police-investigated fraud.
The division has an impressive conviction rate of 89.2% – its highest point in the last three years.
These figures speak volumes about our handling of these complex cases.
There are over 250 staff based in six offices across England and Wales working to deliver these results.
The casework has also included some of the largest and most complex frauds handled by any prosecutor, including the successful convictions of: James Ibori, former governor of Delta state, Nigeria, for fraud and money laundering; Kautilya Pruthi, who defrauded investors of in excess of £115m, in Britain’s largest ever Ponzi scheme; and Kweku Adoboli, an investment banker who dishonestly caused UBS to lose £1.4bn.
In addition, the division has successfully concluded a range of substantial and complex cases investigated by HMRC, including Missing Trader Intra-Community frauds and tax evasion schemes.
These are results the public can have confidence in. Rest assured that in the current economic climate, we are working harder than ever, on behalf of individual victims of fraud and the British taxpayer, to provide both a high-quality and cost-effective service.
Andrew Penhale, deputy head of Specialist Fraud Division, CPS
