The official list of unclaimed estates has been taken offline following media reports of systematic fraud. A notice posted on the Bona Vacantia website this morning states 'We have temporarily removed the unclaimed estates list from our website. Further details will follow as soon as possible.'
The move comes days after the BBC reported the discovery of 'mounting evidence that a criminal gang has been carrying out systematic will fraud by exploiting weaknesses in the probate system, stealing millions of pounds from the estates of dead people, and committing serious tax fraud'. Sir Bob Neill, former chair of the House of Commons Justice Committee, is quoted by the BBC as saying over-eagerness to digitise the system facilitated the fraud.
In one case reported by the BBC, two sisters were alerted to an inheritance by 'heir-finder' company, Anglia Research Services. However its application for probate on their behalf was stopped in its tracks when a Hungarian man produced a will describing him as a 'dear friend' of the deceased. The will named him both as sole executor as well as beneficiary of the entire estate.
However according to the BBC the address was misspelled - and the address of the 'beneficiary' was a block of flats that had not been built at the time the will was signed. Despite producing evidence of multiple discrepancies, the sisters were told they would need to bring a civil case to challenge the will.
The BBC investigation reported that to claim an estate where there is no known heir, a fraudster simply has to find a promising name on Bona Vacantia, produce a will quickly enough, and be awarded grant of probate. Since 2017, it has been possible to apply for probate online - in a system that requires merely an online declaration that no inheritance tax is due.
The MoJ has regularly cited online probate as a digital success story. However Neill told the BBC that the digital system can encourage fradulent behaviour. ‘When you had regional offices you had human scrutiny that was better suited to pick up cases where things went wrong, An automated system isn’t good at doing that.’
A justice committee inquiry into the probate system was cut short by last year's general election.
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