South West Fraud Forum 2025 Annual Conference
The South West Fraud Forum 2025 Annual Conference & Opportunity to Contribute to the new UK Fraud Strategy
Sponsors:
The South West Fraud Forum 2025 conference offered a dynamic mix of speeches from engaging individuals and organisations, each shedding light on the key priorities for combating fraud in the coming year. We were privileged to hear from three distinguished keynote speakers:
- Jane Walters – Specialist Intelligence Unit at Companies House
- Kerenza Hurr – Senior Policy Advisor on International Fraud, Home Office
- Lara Xenoudakis – Detective Chief Inspector, City of London Police
Jane Walters provided an in-depth look at Companies House’s ambitious reform process, with a particular focus on the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act. This marks a pivotal moment in the history of Companies House, as its new powers to challenge, query, and remove inaccurate data—along with strengthened collaboration with law enforcement—propel its mission to become the most “innovative, open, and trusted registry in the world.”
Kerenza Hurr, joined us from the Home Office and shared valuable insights into the UK Government’s vision for tackling fraud, offering a comprehensive overview of the strategic direction ahead. Lara Xenoudakis similarly inspired the audience by discussing the key areas of focus for the City of London Police in the fight against fraud.
In addition, we had the pleasure of hearing from a range of expert speakers, including:
- Matt Horne – Director of Intelligence and Investigations at Clue Software
- Pete Woodward – CEO and co-founder of Securious
- Dr. Jonathan Gilbert – Lecturer in Law, University of the West of England
- Brett Eeles – Associate Director, Manolete Partners Plc
Each speaker brought their unique perspective on best practices for staying ahead of ever-evolving fraud tactics, providing practical advice and solutions for tackling this pressing issue.
We would like to extend our sincere thanks to all the speakers who contributed to making this day both informative and a real success. If you would like to sponsor future events, please email us for more information at [email protected].
Opportunity to Shape the new UK Fraud Strategy
There is now an opportunity to input to the development of the UK’s forthcoming Fraud Strategy. This input can help to shape the strategic framework and government priorities and actions in addressing economic crime.
We would like to invite SWFF members and our wider network to take a few minutes to complete the questionnaire linked below. Your responses will then be collated and passed on to Lord Hanson’s Office. Please complete by 14 May.
The Minister’s areas of interest are as follows:
- Data Sharing
- Closer Collaboration with tech and telcos
- International Collaboration
- Business Impact and Growth
- Future Threats, including AI
- Victim support and improving awareness
- Criminal Justice outcomes
With these topics in mind, please could you consider these questions in the form linked below:
https://forms.office.com/e/TFQ33bzsgT
The SWFF Steering Group are also considering making submissions – whether as the SWFF or as part of the wider UKFF network. If you would like to join the conversation on any topic, please let us know so we can connect you with the appropriate working group(s).
