Number of high-value fraud cases in Scottish courts rises by more than 400%

The number of high value fraud cases reaching court has seen a “dramatic” 442 per cent increase compared to last year, according to a report.

KPMG UK’s latest Fraud Barometer tracks the number of alleged fraud cases exceeding £100,000 being heard in Scottish courts which have been reported in the media.

A total of 14 cases with a total value of £14.1 million reached Scottish courts in the first six months of this year, up 442 per cent from £2.6m over the same period in 2021.

Totals so far this year have also surpassed the full year value for 2021, which was £5.9m across 16 separate cases.

KPMG UK's latest Fraud Barometer tracks the number of alleged fraud cases exceeding £100,000 being heard in Scottish courts which have been reported in the media. Picture: Liam McBurney/PA Wire

Annette Barker, head of KPMG Forensic in the UK, said: “The dramatic increase of fraud cases coming to light in Scotland is worrying, particularly with many cases involving rogue employees abusing their positions of trust to steal money from their employers, clients and other partners.

“Businesses must do all they can to maintain adequate controls to prevent serious fraud from being committed.

“Without the right safeguards in place, businesses across Scotland will, unfortunately, continue to be victims of crime and incur the reputational and financial damage which comes with it.

“Government is stepping up its attention on fraud and so business leaders in Scotland need to follow suit.”

During the first half of this year, members of the public were the most common victims, by both volume and value, suffering fraud losses of £8.7m across six cases.

Judged by volume, commercial businesses and Government were the second most common victims.

Financial institutions were the second-most affected type of victim, when judging by value, suffering fraud losses of almost £3.3m across two cases.

The most common fraud type by both volume and value was cash and equivalent instruments fraud, such as counterfeit money and debit and credit card theft, with three cases having a combined value of £9.3m.

Most cases had a value of between £100,000–£250,000.

The figures were released after it was revealed earlier this month the overall amounts of fraud, overpayments and error in the public sector in Scotland have reduced in the past two financial years.