Land Banking Fraud in UK. Edmonds Marshall McMahon is an expert in conducting fraud prosecutions. We are a unique firm, staffed by solicitors, barristers and investigators, and have significant experience in ensuring that victims of fraud are compensated and that defendants are denied the proceeds of their crime. We often advise on land banking fraud, which happens when plots of land are advertised by fraudsters on the internet or over the phone as an investment opportunity. Although victims are told that the land in question will be developed, and thus yield a healthy profit, there is usually no possibility of development.
Land banking fraud is part of a wider crisis in the UK. In January 2021, the Royal United Services Institute (“RUSI”), a defence and security think tank, published a paper explaining that fraud in the UK has reached epidemic levels. According to this paper, fraud is the “volume crime of our time”. There is certainly increased media attention on the issue – for example, shortly after the RUSI paper was published, the BBC reported that the UK’s fraud epidemic is now a “national security threat”. Notwithstanding greater awareness, the UK government’s fraud response continues to fail individuals and businesses. Budget cuts to the police and Crown Prosecution Service have limited the prioritisation of fraud offences, even as reports continue to rise. This state of affairs is at the heart of Edmond Marshall McMahon’s mission – as private prosecutors, we specialise in providing fraud victims with access to justice.
By way of background, although the majority of criminal prosecutions in England and Wales are conducted by public agencies, the right to pursue a private prosecution is expressly set out in statute. It is this power on which Edmonds Marshall McMahon relies in order to advise and achieve compensation for fraud victims. We regularly implement private prosecution strategies to ensure that those who engage in land banking fraud are held accountable in the criminal courts. Whatever the fraud, please talk to us (free of charge) so we may advise on what is possible in your circumstances.
