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The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) announced new funding to continue the fight against loan sharks and scams.
BIS announced last week that they will continue to fund specialist regional Illegal Money Lending (IML) and Scambuster teams run by Trading Standards. BIS will also be restructuring IML teams so that they can deliver better results and a more efficient service. The IML and Scambuster projects will be funded next year at approximately the same level as this year - receiving £5.2m and £3.2m respectively. Funding is expected to be similar in 2012/2013.
To date, the IML teams have:
The Scambuster teams have uncovered an estimated £55 million worth of fraud, made an estimated £23 million savings for consumers and seized £16.5 million worth of criminal assets. The project has also successfully prosecuted 58 defendants (including organisations).
For more information on the IML and Scambuster projects visit the BIS website.
More...
BIS announced last week that they will continue to fund specialist regional Illegal Money Lending (IML) and Scambuster teams run by Trading Standards. BIS will also be restructuring IML teams so that they can deliver better results and a more efficient service. The IML and Scambuster projects will be funded next year at approximately the same level as this year - receiving £5.2m and £3.2m respectively. Funding is expected to be similar in 2012/2013.
To date, the IML teams have:
- Identified over 1,700 illegal lenders;
- Arrested over 500 illegal money lenders (loan sharks);
- Written off over £37 million of illegal debts (money victims would have paid back to illegal lenders if the Department had not acted);
- Secured over 182 prosecutions, resulting in prison sentencing totalling over 107 years and one indefinite;
Helped over 16,000 victims of loan sharks including the most hard to reach individuals; - Seized over £1.3 million in cash; and
- Referred over 600 victims to alternate (legal) sources of financial support.
The Scambuster teams have uncovered an estimated £55 million worth of fraud, made an estimated £23 million savings for consumers and seized £16.5 million worth of criminal assets. The project has also successfully prosecuted 58 defendants (including organisations).
For more information on the IML and Scambuster projects visit the BIS website.
More...
