UK fraud cases soar to £1bn

Levels of reported fraud in the UK have reached a 10-year high after cases worth almost £1bn (€1.5bn) reached the courts, a report said today.

Auditors KPMG said there were 222 domestic fraud cases involving losses of more than £100,000 (€146,000), compared with 174 in 2004. That took the overall value to £942m (€1.4bn) in 2005 – almost triple the figure of £329m (€480m) in 2004.