Fashion scam: Etam director Robert Sutcliffe jailed as government is

The Fraud Advisory Panel has urged the government to establish a body to tackle fraud which, according to figures released last week, has surged 60% among employees.

Recent figures from KPMG show that fraud is increasing. Recent cases include that of former Etam property director Robert Sutcliffe, 51, pictured arriving at Kingston Crown Court earlier this month where he was jailed for four-and-a-half years for masterminding a #1m scam at the clothes shop chain.

In its third annual report, FAP, an independent body set up by the ICAEW, said the government should bring together the 16 different fraud agencies to create a ‘dedicated lead body’.

While praising the government’s serious response to economic crime, FAP said a fragmentation of perspective, policy and institutions, combined with a rise in organised crime was allowing fraud to grow.

Panel chairman George Staple QC, a former director of the Serious Fraud Office, said the traditional system of checks and balances was failing to cope.