Letters: Wake up and smell the fraud
[Re: ‘UK must ensure it’s world’s ‘safest place to do business,’ Canada police boss says, Oct 25]
Protecting the public from the meteoric rise of fraud needs to be an absolute priority for the new government. Our law enforcement agencies are grappling with scarce resources, and Sunak must take note of this salient point. The lack of investment and resourcing in fraud enforcement, perhaps above anything, has been one of our government’s greatest failures and continues to be a black-mark on our country’s reputation as a ‘leading figure’ in the fight against international corruption and economic crime.
Over the past decade, the government has pursued an agenda of defunding fraud regulators, leaving them short of the money and manpower needed to properly police and regulate fraud. The new Economic Crime Bill shows promise, but will be useless if the government moves forward with plans to reduce headcounts at the SFO and NCA.
We simply need to wake up to the realisation that funding fraud enforcement is a vital investment that pays dividends. If we continue to do nothing, the City will remain at the mercy of fraudsters and the public will continue to pay the price.
Rachel Adamson