𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

A key duty of any government is to protect its citizens. This is centred on ensuring safety, security and upholding the rule of law.

When it comes to fraud, British citizens are being spectacularly failed on every measure. There are very few protections for ordinary people from the scourge of fraud. This is so acute that I now believe it can only be described as a serious failure by ministers.

We predicted last year that there would be a rise in overseas scams and fraud fuelled by artificial intelligence. There is no doubt this has occurred. Foreign criminals are targeting the UK and sucking out billions of pounds. We all know social media sites are allowed to host and peddle scam adverts to lure in unsuspecting victims. Telecommunication giants also help send out scam texts and phone calls every second of every minute.

Indeed, it’s estimated that Meta, which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, sees more than 50% of UK fraud operated through, or started from, their platforms. What other company would be allowed to operate as a conduit for criminality? Yet it seems the Government is too scared to hold these behemoths to account.

So, where is the protection from ministers for their citizens when it comes to safety and security from foreign fraud? Arguably, worse than this dereliction of duty to protect citizens is the complete failure to uphold the rule of law.

You will hear arguments that there is nothing that can be done to thwart overseas criminals, as we cannot arrest and prosecute the perpetrators. Not true.

But perhaps the real scandal is that we are seeing a huge rise in fraud being perpetrated with impunity by British citizens. Ponzi schemes are now rife – the UK has become a centre for fraudulent investment schemes. Ironically, overseas victims do not have the same redress as UK citizens from these British-based crimes.

We are seeing individual British investment scams raking in tens of millions of pounds and then watching the police, Serious Fraud Office and National Crime Agency all refusing to bring prosecutions.

So-called property investment schemes will often take in millions of pounds to buy flats, houses or care homes, only for administrators of the collapsed company to find just a few hundred thousand pounds were spent on the purpose for which the money was sent.

Fraudsters create glossy brochures, have high-end websites and sophisticated online platforms that investors can log into. They even have genuine offices that would-be investors can visit and meet the fraudsters face-to-face.

To the outside world, they look like a fantastic opportunity for people to make decent returns on their money. However, when the schemes collapse, investors are left penniless, and the fraudsters disappear. But many don’t even flee the country – they just set up yet another scheme.

Such clear and obvious crimes where money has not been used for the purpose it was given should be an easy nick for the authorities. However, these white-collar criminals now seem to be above the law.

We see the same directors flitting from one investment scam to another. The architects of these collapsed frauds seem to have no shame. Many are on podcasts preaching to their next would-be victims how they can make them rich. All of this is made possible by introducers who, in some schemes, are taking as much as 20% of the investment capital in fees.

The failure of the Government to hold any of these people to account is a national scandal and an international embarrassment. We have many overseas clients who were attracted to investing into British companies precisely because they felt we would have better protections. These people also feel hugely let down.

The personal cost of falling victim to these investment scams isn’t just financial. We see it lead to severe depression, relationship breakdowns, victims losing their homes and pensioner having to come out of retirement.

However, no political party seems to be taking the subject of fraud seriously. No one is saying we will protect you, we will ensure that justice is done. Even on an economic front, it seems madness that no one sees fraud as the top priority. Billions of pounds are being drained from our already anaemic economy.

We do what we can to help fraud victims, but we need the Government to step up and carry out one of its most basic duties- protecting its citizens.

Martin Richardson is senior partner at Richardson Hartley Law