Covid Fraud: A costly and long-lasting side-effect of the pandemic

Rahman Ravelli consider the ongoing fall-out from coronavirus support scheme fraud.

With the issue of fraud related to government COVID-19 support schemes showing no sign of abating, Rahman Ravelli have wrote an assessment of the situation.

In this article, which was published by Expert Witness, Rahman Ravelli explain the scale of the problem and its political impact, with current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak having been heavily criticised for his approach to coronavirus fraud while Chancellor.

Rahman Ravelli refer to the resignation of the UK’s fraud minister Lord Theodore Agnew and outline the ability of fraudsters to use the pandemic as an opportunity to deploy new techniques to defraud government bodies and exploit individuals.

They question why the architects of the coronavirus support schemes were unable to spot the potential for fraudulent gains immediately and why, when it became apparent, action was not taken quicker.

Rahman Ravelli also cite the July 2020 warning from the Crown Prosecution Service that there was a risk of coronavirus being used as a vehicle for fraud. They highlight the fact that the Treasury only expects to recover only £1 of every £4 stolen from the public purse by coronavirus fraudsters. This, they argue, is a situation that could have been avoided if the right action had been taken at the right time.

Rahman Ravelli's article features in the Expert Witness Journal.

Featured at: Expert Witness