The number of fraud cases in UK Crown Courts increased by 16% in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2023, with money laundering representing the highest value fraud cases, according to new data from KPMG UK’s mid-year fraud barometer.

Nine money laundering cases have been heard in UK courts so far this year, worth a collective £128.2 million.

The research has revealed 122 fraud cases in total were heard in the first six months of the year, up from 105 cases during the same period in 2023. However, fraud value was just over £305 million, a 14% drop compared to the first six months of the previous year, when the total fraud value stood at £354.2 million.

The public sector has been the biggest victim of fraud so far in 2024, with 26 court cases worth a combined value of £193.4 million, an increase of 30% compared to the same period in 2023. The general public also continues to bear the brunt of fraud, with 41 cases totalling £33.2 million being heard in UK courts during the first six months of the year.

Commenting on the findings, Roy Waligora, partner and head of UK investigations at KPMG, said: “Money laundering continues to be a problem in the UK due to the complexity and sophistication of financial systems that can be exploited for illegal activities. 

“It will be interesting to see if the relatively new requirement for overseas entities to be registered at Companies House will result in even more of these cases reaching the courts soon.”

Criminals are increasingly turning to cyber-tools to hide and launder these illicit funds. Money gained through cyber-crime, such as online scams, is often obfuscated through blockchain transactions, and sent worldwide over the internet, making it difficult for law enforcement to track.

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According to a report from Chainalysis, over $22 billion (£16.7 billion) of cryptocurrency was laundered last year, down from $31.5 billion (£23.9 billion) in 2022. 

Despite that recorded drop in crypto-laundering, in general the total amount of cryptocurrency laundered over the past five years has trended upwards. Part of the reason is that cryptocurrency has become practical, and profitable, for criminals to use.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) warns that it is now possible to create large money laundering schemes with thousands of transfers at a low cost, executed using simple computer scripts, and that due to rapid increases in exchange rates, with some cryptocurrencies showing 10,000% growth, it’s easy for criminals to justify unexpected wealth.

In July, CB Payments Limited, part of the Coinbase Group which operates a globally accessible crypto-asset trading platform, was fined £3,503,546 by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for repeatedly breaching anti-money laundering requirements that prevented the firm from offering services to high-risk customers.