DCI David Wood to lead crackdown on fraudsters
City of London Police detective chief inspector David Wood will lead the police unit being set up to tackle UK insurance fraud.
From January, Wood will be heading a team of 35 specialist fraud detectives and financial investigators that will target a crime valued at £2bn per year.
ABI members will pay the £3m cost for the initial three-year pilot, but the unit will stay independent. The funding plan will be reviewed after two years.
Wood’s team will work closely with the force’s own National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, regional police forces and the insurance industry to prevent fraud and recover the proceeds of insurance fraud crime.
Wood said: “I am looking forward to the challenge of leading the unit, ensuring it delivers value for money for the insurance industry while making the UK a more hostile place to operate for all those who commit insurance fraud.”
Details of the police private sector partnership were made public in July by the Commissioner of the City of London Police and the Association of British Insurers (ABI).
A strategic board containing representatives from the City of London Police, ABI, National Fraud Authority and Insurance Fraud Bureau will meet quarterly to set strategic priorities for the unit, informed by an annual threat assessment and analysis of insurance fraud trends.
The announcement came as a big boost to the counter fraud community as reductions in policing budgets placed the national capability for combating economic crime under threat.
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