How long can a fraud investigation take?

Fraud is one of the most prevalent and pressing crimes in the UK at the moment, with estimates putting the annual cost to the country at around £158 billion. As a result of this monumental cost, a lot is being done legally to tackle this highly substantial issue.

As a result of fraud being such a prevalent crime, it’s not uncommon that you or someone you know might be subject to an investigation. It is, however, a process with potentially serious ramifications, and it’s important that you take the right steps going forward.

Exactly how long the investigation itself will take depends on multiple factors. It could in some cases be a couple of months, but could also end up taking years. To show you just how complex these cases can become, we’ll go through some of the different bodies and processes that go into investigating a fraud offence.

Whether you’ve been charged already or you suspect that you may face charges in the near future, it’s important that you seek qualified legal assistance at the earliest opportunity available, so that you and your legal team can get working on your defence.

 

Level of complexity

One of the main factors that can influence how long a specific fraud investigation will take is its complexity. If it is a single act of opportunistic fraud that is solely being investigated by a single government body, then it might not take long at all.

If however, it is a complex act of fraud on a larger scale, the investigation could end up taking years. The more parties involved with the case, the longer it could end up taking – as we’ll see, there are numerous different parties that can and often will be involved in this process.

 

Who might be involved in a fraud investigation?

While lots of crimes will primarily be investigated by the police, with fraud investigations, things become a little more complex. Multiple different investigatory agencies can become involved, a few of which are detailed below.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO)

The Serious Fraud Office is the body responsible for investigating large-scale fraud. This could also often include instances of fraud that include substantial bribery and corruption. 

When deciding if it’s appropriate that the SFO investigate a suspected case of fraud, the Director will typically take into account several factors. These include the impact that the act might have had on the prosperity of the UK, the reputation more generally of the country as a respected financial centre, and the amount of harm caused to the public (such as in tax fraud cases).

If the nature of the offence matches one or more of these factors, then it is more likely that the SFO might seek to get involved with the investigation.

The SFO is a somewhat unusual investigatory body in the UK in that they both prosecute and investigate the cases that they work on. This is because of both the speciality and complexity of the kinds of large-scale fraud cases that they tend to investigate.

 

His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs

HMRC can also become involved in fraud cases, particularly in cases that involve some kind of tax-related fraud. Depending on the scale, they will likely work in collaboration with other departments to conduct the investigation; if the scale, harm, and complexity are significant enough, then the case will likely be investigated by the SFO. 

HMRC has both civil and criminal powers to investigate instances of tax fraud. While civil powers will be used in minor cases where criminal intent is far less clear, where the fraud is serious or where HMRC deems it necessary to send a strong message, they will seek to use their criminal and specialist investigation capabilities.

 

The police

Within the police, there are specialist teams that can be asked to deal with instances of fraud.

Action Fraud

Action Fraud is the department that is responsible for receiving and dealing with reports of fraud. Private individuals or businesses will typically make a report, which Action Fraud will then typically forward to the relevant department. If you believe that someone else has been the victim of fraud, you can also report the crime on their behalf to Action Fraud. 

The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau

The reports that are made to Action Fraud will then normally be analysed by a team of fraud experts at the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB). Based on their assessment, they will then decide on which agency might be best to send the case to. The NFIB plays a kind of intermediary role in the overall investigatory process.

 

Current caseload

As with all criminal cases, something that will have a significant impact on how long the investigation takes is the caseload at that moment in time. Currently, most criminal investigatory bodies in the UK are massively overloaded. This means that it will likely take even longer than normal for your case to be investigated and go to trial.

 

Seeking legal advice

While it can take a long time for the government to investigate fraud cases, it can also take a long time to develop an effective legal defence. As a result, it’s important that you reach out to a qualified and experienced criminal defence solicitor at the earliest opportunity available, so that you can get to work right away. 

Not only will they be able to help you build your defence, but they may also be able to prevent any more damage from being done going forward. Your solicitor will be able to:

• Provide you with legal advice both before and during any interviews that you’re required to attend
• Help you to develop a solid defence, arranging for your representation in court if necessary
• Make sure that you’re treated by the court in a just and fair manner at all times
• Help you through the appeals process should you decide that you’re unsatisfied with the end result.

With complex cases like these, you don’t just build your defence in a couple of weeks. It takes time, and you need to act fast to ensure that you keep time on your side.