Fraud Newsletter
May 2026
Compiled by Faras Baloch, Andrew Herd, Francesca Kirby. & Katie Bacon
Cases
The Director of the Serious Fraud Office v Ultra Electronics Holdings Ltd (Previously Plc) [2026] EWCR 4: first SFO DPA in 4 years. Failure to prevent bribery in Algeria and Oman; over £10 m financial penalty & £4.8 m costs. Agreement, Statement of Facts, Indictment & Undertaking.
Khan v North of England Coachworks Limited [2026] EWCA Civ 656: sentencing for civil contempt of court by breach of freezing order with background of fraud and non-compliance with orders.
Bills, Statutes & SIs
Crime and Policing Act 2026 corporate liability for all crimes where senior manager commits offence while acting in scope of actual or apparent authority; overhaul of POCA Part 2; costs protection for law enforcement in civil recovery & international law enforcement information-sharing agreements. Serious Crime Factsheet. Proceeds of Crime Factsheet. International co-operation Factsheet.
Guidance, Reports & Consultations
The MoD’s tackling of economic crime and misconduct [£1.5 bn lost to fraud annually]: UK Parl: 29 May 26
The UK’s Dirty Money Problem: Estimating the scale of illicit flows in the UK financial system: [£325 bn dirty money flows through UK annually]: Finance Innovation Lab: 24 May 26
Illicit Finance Summit delay should be used to launch bold UK leadership against dirty money Spotlight: 21 May 26
Structured digital reporting 2026 Update FRC: 20 May 26
Making the most of police reform to tackle money laundering, corruption and fraud Spotlight: 20 May 26
Multi-Billion Dollar Guarantee Marketplaces Exploit Stablecoins for Scams RUSI: 19 May 26
Guidance on the use of AI and Other Technologies BSB: 18 May 26
The Impact of Fraud on Financial Inclusion in the UK RUSI: 14 May 26
Getting the Financial Action Task Force’s Travel Rule Right: Delivering on Guidance RUSI: 8 May 26
News
Olympic sprinter CJ Ujah accused of crypto fraud BBC: 29 May 26
Ministry of Defence is failing to defend its own finances against economic crime Spotlight: 29 May 26
Fraudster targeted ill man and jeopardised company BBC: 26 May 26
‘Ancient’ statues fraud foiled by fake paperwork BBC: 22 May 26
City of London Police and PWC Recognised with Award for Rollout of Report Fraud Report Fraud: 21 May 26
Investigation launched into alleged offences during local elections in Tameside Greater Manchester Police: 21 May 26
Police Arrest 31 Suspected Online Fraudsters BBC: 20 May 26
Met investigation into Grenfell Tower fire on track to submit all charging files to CPS including fraud MET: 19 May 26
Romance fraud costs UK victims £102 million as cases rise sharply Report Fraud: 5 May 26
Film tax fraudster jailed after two years on the run BBC: 1 May 26
SFO
Trio formally accused of endangering airplane transport in worldwide fraud [following conviction in UK of director of AOG Technics]: The Resident: 27 May 26
SFO Agents Accused Of Using Bribes In London Mining Probe [paywall]: Law 360: 23 May 26
Investment firm CEO imprisoned for contempt of court SFO: 21 May 26
SFO secures £15 million bribery settlement with UK defence company Ultra Electronics Spotlight: 1 May 26
CPS
Company director jailed for key role in a nearly £9 million investment fraud CPS: 29 May 26
FCA
Regulatory Initiative Grid FCA: 19 May 26
FCA, Bank of England and Treasury joint statement on frontier AI models and cyber resilience FCA: 15 May 26
FCA fines and bans Frank Breuer for seroius misconduct in pension transfer advice FCA: 12 May 26
Laying the foundation for confidence FCA: 11 May 26
NCA
Cross border arrests in international money laundering investigation NCA: 28 May 26
NCA secures thousands of pounds from notorious American gangster once on the FBI’s ‘Ten Most Wanted’ List NCA: 12 May 26
Insolvency Service
‘Appalling’ director banned for maximum 15 years after securing Covid loan for company which never traded IS: 19 May 26
Europe
European Union ratifies the Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence COE: 15 May 26
US
Perspectives on Tokenization and Implications for the Financial System GFRS: 8 May 26
US drops fraud charges after billionaire Adani pledges $10bn investment Al Jazeera: 18 May 26
Self-report fraud and walk free, New York prosecutors tell Wall Street FT [paywall]: 14 May 26
Beyond
Canada Calling: Lessons for Europe on Confronting the Financing of Political Interference RUSI: 26 May 26
Chinese mining giant Jinchuan uncovers $145 million fraud scheme at Congo mine Business Insider: 26 May 26