It's
a huge leap from the previous year's £221m figure.
Despite that, the number of fraud cases was in fact down
from 277 in 2006 to 197 for the year.
Organised
gangs made up close to 90 per cent, or £889m, of all
fraud cases brought to crown courts in 2007.
The
government proved to be the most lucrative target for
fraudsters involved in identity theft rings, benefit
scams and VAT fraud, with the value of 68 cases
totalling an eye-popping £833m.
Carousel
fraud continued to account for a huge number of losses
to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) last year.
KPMG
said it was too early to call on whether or not the
reverse charging scheme introduced by HMRC last
summer to crack down on the growing EU-wide VAT scam
involving mobile phones and computer chips would have
any "material impact", or if criminals would
simply target other small tech goods.
It's
also worth remembering that KPMG's figures only cover
cases that make it to the courts. Treasury estimates of
the amount lost to VAT fraud alone have ranged as high
as £3bn.
Meanwhile,
fraud against banks dropped significantly to £37m from
more than £140m in 2006. Companies also saw a decrease,
suffering £24m fraud losses compared to £81m a year
earlier.
However,
KPMG warned that businesses could expect to see an
increase in company fraud if the widely forecast
economic downturn starts to bite.
"As
companies tighten their belts in the harsher conditions
and take a closer look at their operations and related
expenditure, it is highly possible that a greater number
of frauds may be detected," said KPMG partner
Hitesh Patel.
