§ 34. Mr. Bill O'Brien (Normanton)If she will make a statement on the prosecution of financial crime. [75302]
§ The Solicitor-General (Ms Harriet Harman)We consider the effective prosecution of financial crime to be very important. We cannot allow white-collar criminals to escape justice. The Serious Fraud Office and 404 the Crown Prosecution Service prosecute financial crime. The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, which comes into effect in February 2003, will mean not only that financial crime will be prosecuted, but that the proceeds of such crime can be prosecuted more effectively.
§ Mr. Bill O'BrienDoes my right hon. and learned Friend share my concern at the low number of prosecutions carried out by the Serious Fraud Office, especially given the additional resources that it received two years ago? Can something be done to ensure that more cases are brought to justice, in line with the comments that she made in her further response to the previous question?
§ The Solicitor-GeneralAs my hon. Friend may know, the Serious Fraud Office prosecutes only those cases in which more than £1 million is at stake. The difference between the SFO and the CPS is that the former investigates a fraud as well as prosecuting it. Financial crime is linked with money laundering, terrorism, drugs and human trafficking, and it is very important that we recognise that the problem must be sorted out internationally as well as nationally. A working party involving all Departments has looked into improving the response to fraud. As international fraud grows, we must be sure that we improve our performance in tackling it.
§ Mr. Nick Hawkins (Surrey Heath)I add my congratulations to the Solicitor-General on the 20th anniversary of her service in Parliament.
In the light of her answers to the hon. Member for Normanton (Mr. O'Brien) on the rather arbitrary limit on investigations by the SFO, will the right hon. and learned Lady say whether she proposes to encourage the SFO's excellent officers to make their skills available to other police forces? The SFO was set up by the previous Conservative Government, and such a move would enable its officers to share the expertise that they have developed over the years. The skills of SFO officers could then be used in smaller investigations. I hope that she will accept that even frauds below the limit of £1 million can have serious international implications, a point that was debated at length during the passage of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
§ The Solicitor-GeneralI thank the hon. Gentleman for his comments, and welcome him to the Dispatch Box in his new role. As I said, the SFO investigates fraud involving more than £1 million, and the CPS prosecutes frauds below that level. There is a close relationship between the CPS and the SFO. Other police forces that are investigating crimes involving less than £1 million certainly work closely with the Serious Fraud Office and draw on its expertise. It is not clear when they start the investigation whether the figure is more or less than £1 million. We are talking about large sums of money—about £14 billion is estimated to be lost through serious fraud, which affects victims both rich and not rich. It is not a victimless crime; it is also about poor people being ripped off. We feel very strongly about white-collar crime and not allowing fat cats to get away with it.