Snyder slams lax approach to white-collar crime

Michael Snyder, the head of Kingston Smith, has warned that the Square Mile could become a 'honey pot' for fraudsters if more is not done to clampdown on white-collar crime.

Snyder, who is also the chairman of policy and resources for the City of London, told the FT that the City's approach to fraud 'smacks of complacency and ignores the damage done to the City's reputation as a fair and honest place to do business and to invest'.

Snyder questioned how the theft of £1m using fraud only received a three-year prison sentence when other means of robbery received much heavier sentences. He added that fraud trials had become impossibly complex, leaving juries stumped and bewildered.

'Some fraud trials spiral into complexity beyond even the smartest juries, leaving fraudsters to walk out of court – if not to resume a business career then at least to play golf in the comfort for the rest of their lives,' Snyder was quoted as saying in the FT.

White-collar crime has been booming in recent time. Research by KPMG found that the cost of fraud in the UK had more than doubled from £329m in 2004 to £900m in 2005.