At present there is no one general fraud law in English law, but
an untidy mess of eight specific statutory crimes (such as
'obtaining property by deception') and a vague common law offence
of 'conspiracy to defraud'.
Scotland does have a common law crime of fraud, committed when
someone achieves a practical result by a false pretence. Scotland
also has a separate crime of 'uttering,' which is where some
article – usually a document – is passed off as genuine towards the
prejudice of another person.
As a result of the confusion in English law, Home Office
Minister Baroness Scotland said: "The current laws do not cover the
wide range of frauds which can be committed and it is too easy for
defendants to escape justice because of legal loopholes".
"Modern criminals are also increasingly sophisticated and use
technology to commit frauds. For example, buying services over the
internet could be subject to fraud because of a deficiency in the
current law," she added.
The Government is therefore proposing to create a general
offence of fraud that could be committed in three ways: by false
representation; by wrongfully failing to disclose information; and
by abuse of position.
The proposals do not cover what might be described as specialist
branches of fraud – forgery and counterfeiting, false accounting,
tax evasion, insider dealing, misleading market practices, benefit
fraud and intellectual property offences. These require separate
consideration, says the Home Office.
The creation of a general offence, the Home Office hopes, will
make the law simpler and more easily understandable for juries,
defendants and the general public. The existence of a clear
definition of fraud will also help to make the prosecution process
more efficient and effective.
The proposals, which do not affect Scotland, are part of several
Government anti-fraud initiatives announced recently, such as the
introduction of a draft bill on identity cards that the Government
claims will help tackle identity fraud.
Other initiatives include extra funding for the Serious Fraud
Office and City of London Police to tackle fraud; supporting
financial institutions and the retail industry with their
introduction of the chip-and-PIN system for plastic cards; setting
up the Assets Recovery Agency; and implementing the Proceeds of
Crime Act 2002, which will increase powers to find and recover
money from those who profit from fraud and other crimes.
Comments are invited from all interested parties by 9th August
2004.
