Scottish high-value fraud cases cost more than £14m in last year, new figures show

High-value fraud cases reaching Scottish courts have surged by more than 400% in the last year.

A total of 14 cases with a value exceeding £14m were brought before judges in the past 12 months – up from £5.9m across 16 separate cases in 2021.

Research by KPMG UK found members of the public lost £8.7m to fraudsters in six cases during the first half of 2022.

The firm’s fraud barometer described the trend as “worrying”.

Annette Barker, Head of KPMG forensic in the UK, said: “The dramatic increase of fraud cases coming to light in Scotland is worrying, particularly with many cases involving rogue employees abusing their positions of trust to steal money from their employers, clients and other partners.

“Businesses must do all they can to maintain adequate controls to prevent serious fraud from being committed.”

She added: “Without the right safeguards in place, businesses across Scotland will, unfortunately, continue to be victims of crime and incur the reputational and financial damage which comes with it.”

The vast majority of cases had a value of between £100,000 – £250,000, according to KPMG figures.

ommercial businesses and Government were the second most common victims.

Financial institutions were the second-most affected type of victim, when judging by value, suffering fraud losses of almost £3.3m across two cases.