What is fraud and corruption?
7. Fraud
The Fraud Act 2006 came into force on 15 January 2007 as a response to the Law Commission report “Fraud”, published in 2002. The act repeals the deception offences enshrined in the 1968 and 1978 Theft Acts, replacing them with a single offence of Fraud, which can be committed in three ways:
- False representation.
- Failure to disclose information where there is a legal duty to do so.
- Abuse of position.
The act also created four new offences of:
- Possession of articles for use in fraud.
- Making or supplying articles for use in fraud.
- Obtaining services dishonestly.
- Participating in a fraudulent business.
Whilst the act does not provide a single definition of fraud it may be described as follows:
“Making dishonestly a false representation with the intention to make a gain for oneself or another, or, to cause loss to another or expose him/her to the risk of loss.”
Or more simply:
“Dishonest conduct with the intention to make a gain or cause a loss or the risk of loss to another.”
8. Theft
Theft is defined in the 1968 Theft Act as “A person shall be guilty of theft if he/she dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it”
9. Corruption
Corruption may be defined as “The offering, giving, soliciting or acceptance of any inducement or reward which would influence the actions taken by a body, its members or officers.”