Fraud charges

Police have charged three people with fraud offences following an investigation into a construction company in Bristol.

The three are accused of a total of 22 offences, including fraud, money laundering, using a false instrument, failing to disclose information, and possession of criminal property.

Police officers also seized a large amount of cash as part of the inquiry into alleged financial crimes at the unnamed firm.

Fraud lawyers

Sarah Wallace from Irwin Mitchell's Fraud and Regulatory Group said: "It appears that the police are prosecuting a wide range of the relatively new offences under the Proceeds of Crime Act and Fraud Act for money laundering and fraud offences.

"Individuals and businesses, whether in or out of the regulated sector for money laundering, are at increasing risk of falling foul of a wide range of complicated offences for money laundering. Some non disclosure offences involve an objective negligence based test as opposed to prove of actual knowledge that another is engaged in money laundering.

"Businesses are advised to ensure that they under the money laundering regime and have adequate systems and controls to guard against risk of police investigation or prosecution for criminal conduct."