The sixth Tackling Economic Crime Awards (TECAs), proudly sponsored by Altia, was held at Novotel London West on 15th November, 2024. Over three hundred financial crime professionals gathered to honour the remarkable achievements in the sector, enjoying an evening with dinner and the awards presentation hosted by Ian Dyson QPM DL, former Commissioner of the City of London Police.
The TECAs event celebrates and recognises the outstanding work within the industry. Reflecting on the event’s impact, Professor Martin Gill, founder of the TECAs remarked: “This year’s diverse and high-calibre entries underscore the significant efforts in tackling economic crime, showcasing dedication and innovation.”
The evening concluded with a sense of pride and accomplishment, reinforcing the TECAs’ reputation as a prestigious accolade in the financial crime sector. With each passing year, the TECAs continue to inspire and promote excellence, making a significant contribution to the fight against economic crime.
2024 TECAs Winners & Summaries:
Outstanding Manager/Director
Zoe Gascoyne – HMRC
As Deputy Director, Zoe delivered a record-breaking year for the Offshore, Corporate and Wealthy (OCW) team in HMRCs Fraud Investigation Service (FIS), with over £1.1bn delivered for HMRC during 23/24 alongside more than 110 Positive Charging Decisions.
Zoe directed the Bernie Ecclestone parallel fraud conviction and £653m civil settlement through negotiations under the Attorney General guidelines on plea discussions in complex fraud – a long, detailed HMRC investigation that Zoe had also led whilst previously with the Crown Prosecution Service. Zoe instigated the creation of the new Code of Practice 9 (COP9) Centre in HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service (launched in April 2024). The centralisation of COP9 specialist resource ensures a more consistent and increasingly effective use of this critical tool, underpinning a pipeline of criminal cases – demonstrated by the recent conviction of the Hirst brothers for a £3.2m offshore tax fraud, another FIS OCW case.
Outstanding Team
Operation Volcanic Investigation Team – Economic, Serious and Organised Crime – DWP
Operation Volcanic is the largest benefit fraud case to date in the UK with £53.9 million of taxpayers’ money stolen. Economic, Serious and Organised Crime investigators worked to track and catch the fraudsters involved, gathering extensive evidence from false tenancy agreements, shell companies, counterfeit payslips, and GP records. The investigation identified three ‘benefit factories’ where repeated false claims originated from. Hundreds of ‘claim packs’ containing forged documents and £800,000 in cash were seized on one day of enforcement action, with over 100 Police and DWP officers deployed. Five defendants were convicted and jailed for a combined total of more than 25 years.
Outstanding Training Initiative
Gentium UK
Gentium UK has trained thousands of personnel globally, including those from law enforcement, regulators, government departments, and the judiciary, on areas including financial crime, fraud, money laundering, bribery, corruption, and cryptocurrency. They offer bespoke training tailored to client needs using gamified learning and live case examples. A training needs analysis conducted for UK police forces and agencies led to a consistent, accessible, and cost-effective approach. Feedback highlighted the importance of team exercises, live examples, and delivery via passionate practitioners compared to more generic teaching. Gentium develop bespoke courses focused on economic crime and asset recovery, which are compliant with current legislation and regulations, and delivered through methods that engage learners. They employ gamified learning with cyber escape rooms, offering competitive, interactive training for up to 100 participants.
Outstanding New Product, Software or Technology
Call Status – Monzo Bank
In 2023, Monzo introduced Call Status, an industry-first feature that verifies if Monzo is genuinely on the phone with a customer in real-time, instructing them to hang up otherwise. It also allows immediate reporting of attempted fraud directly within the Call Status screen. Monzo’s in-house technology tracks calls in real-time, updating the app with the latest call status to prevent fraud. The feature is being viewed over 10,000 times daily, with around 700 fraud calls reported every month. It has gained significant media attention, with over 350 articles highlighting this innovation.
Outstanding Partnership
Operation Aviation – SE ROCU; Lloyds Bank; Barclays Bank; National Economic Crime Centre
Operation Aviation, a partnership between the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU), Barclays Bank, and Lloyds Bank, and facilitated by the NECC, tackled criminal underground banking in Southampton. Serious Organised Crime in this area generated large volumes of cash needing laundering and was often sold to international students with cash export restrictions. Southampton saw significant cash deposits, with £719k of Scottish notes deposited at one branch in just two months. The NECC facilitated joint efforts, with Lloyds’ threat analysis and Barclays’ identification of high-risk accounts being crucial. The operation included covert surveillance and legal measures, leading to significant disruptions. This collaboration exemplified effective joint-working and innovative strategies in combating economic crime.
Outstanding Investigator
Carolann Mongan – DWP
Carolann has made significant strides in her field, earning recognition for her exceptional contributions to the sector. She has been instrumental in developing innovative solutions that have had a profound impact on her industry. Her leadership and expertise have driven successful projects, leading to notable advancements and improvements. Carolann’s dedication to excellence is evident in her ability to navigate complex challenges and deliver outstanding results. She has been a key figure in fostering collaboration and driving progress, earning accolades and respect from her peers. Her achievements highlight her commitment to pushing boundaries and setting new standards of excellence, making her a standout leader and a driving force in her field.
Outstanding Public Sector/Law Enforcement Initiative
Fraud Hub – NHSCFA
In April 2023, the NHSCFA launched their Fraud Hub, a new operating model with centralised counter fraud experts available to support and enhance local counter fraud efforts across the NHS in England. This initiative was driven by the need for a unified approach to effectively combat fraud, supported by stakeholder feedback and performance data indicating a decline in local counter fraud outcomes. The Fraud Hub aims to foster collaboration within the NHS counter fraud community, providing guidance and direct assistance to improve effectiveness and build stronger relationships with local teams, ultimately enhancing the NHS’s ability to tackle fraud.
Outstanding Private/Third Sector Initiative
Fraud Prevention Campaign – Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB)
Changing the perceptions about fraud is challenging, requiring repeated awareness campaigns to prompt action. Fraud constitutes 40% of all reported crime in the UK, with many people unaware of its personal impact, often viewing it as a corporate issue. Over the past year, the IFB has implemented phase 1 of its Prevention Strategy, marking a significant shift in fraud prevention through new social media channels and creative approaches. Collaborating with members, the IFB launched a sustained digital marketing and PR campaign to prevent fraud victimisation and deter individuals from engaging in opportunistic fraud for the first time.
Outstanding Young Professional
Adam C – National Economic Crime Centre
Adam has introduced new concepts in the fraud space, establishing high-profile projects and relationships that create opportunities for disrupting sophisticated criminals. He has built international partnerships across public and private sectors and within the National Crime Agency (NCA), focusing on the under-tackled enablers of large-scale fraud. Adam leads the INTEXTENDED cell, leveraging telecom resources to identify criminals, which has so far resulted in the arrest of eight prolific phishing fraudsters. He has also strengthened the link between cyber and fraud responses, promoting cross-over initiatives like the iSpoof, GENESIS, and LabHost takedowns, enhancing enforcement against harmful fraud activities.
Outstanding Female Economic Crime Professional
Dr Elisabeth Carter – Kingston University
Spending over a decade researching in economic crime and using her findings to change societal and organisational understandings of fraud, improve public protection and perceptions of victimhood, Elisabeth’s achievements have made a tangible difference to public safety and organisational culture across the public, private and third sector. She has transformed the tackling economic crime landscape by revealing the true nature of fraud as a type of abuse, identifying gaps in public protection, revolutionising understandings of economic crime and facilitating practical, strategic and conceptual changes. She has the moral courage to tackle issues head-on; Elisabeth’s vision and unwavering dedication has inspired major shifts and lasting results in communications across the counter-fraud industry.
Outstanding Individual Contribution to Tackling Economic Crime
Christine Farrow – UK Finance
Chris is the driving force behind the industry’s efforts to counter Authorised Push Payment (APP Fraud). From her background working at Scotland Yard in the Fraud Prevention Arm, through to her current role as APP Lead at UK Finance, her incredible energy, knowledge, influence, commitment, and passion for achieving the right outcome has made her widely recognised and celebrated as the industry expert on APP. She has arguably done more than anyone else to protect the public from the harms which result from fraud in her long and successful career to date.
Outstanding Overseas Initiative
Project PUENTE – NECC Illicit Finance Threat Leadership
Project PUENTE, led by the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC), has been tackling complex overseas money laundering impacting the UK for over five years. By creating a multi-disciplinary operational team, building partnerships with the UAE, and engaging the private sector, the project addresses this issue from all angles. Recently, Project PUENTE launched a new Combined Anti-Money Laundering Operational Team, enhancing UK and UAE collaboration against top-priority money launderers. This initiative has led to unprecedented high-value intelligence sharing, significantly improving the ability to disrupt complex criminal networks affecting both countries.
Lifetime Achievement
Adrian Ladkin
Adrian Ladkin joined Greater Manchester Police (GMP) on the 4th October 1976. He is currently still employed by them having no break in service. This is a career of over 47 years serving his community. He has worked on GMP most notorious investigations and used his tenacity and experience to serve his colleagues and the public. Adrian joined the Fraud Unit in 2000 and has worked in this sector ever since. In 2004, he moved departments within Economic Crime to the Financial Investigation Unit, managing investigations and confiscations. He retired as a Warranted Police Officer on a Friday in 2006 and returned on the Monday as the civilian equivalent. He has led a team of over 30 since and led and guided numerous senior officers to bring GMP Economic Crime Unit (ECU) to one of the best in the UK with over 140 staff and officers.
The TECAs supported charity is the Consortium for the Prevention of Suicide, with guests at the London event making donations to assist in helping to save lives by pooling together resources, skills and technology in order to prevent suicide.
The event organisers would like to thank all those who have helped to make the sixth TECAs event such a success including: all the supporting associations and judges; sponsors: Altia (headline sponsor); Asset Reality (trophies and certificates); Counter Fraud Professional Awards Board, Cifas, Experian, The Security Event & International Security Expo, Insurance Fraud Bureau and Secretariat (award categories).