He told the summit it was "no good" for regulators simply to fine those at fault, such as the banks, for their behaviour, because it is "not the shareholders' fault - it is the directors.
"We have found that it has been hard to get any prosecutions for fraud. We need a proper Fraud Minister with a proper committee to support them, not a bunch of MPs looking for their next jobs with the banks, for a start."
Fraud
Criminologist Professor James Treadwell said: "Fraud is the golden thread that runs through all organised crime".
If you follow the money - as fellow speaker Alexis Conran, the presenter of BBC Three's The Real Hustle series urged - UK agencies would be able to prevent money from UK victims of crime going to fund terrorism, trafficking and international organised crime.
Both repeated calls for a "Minister for Fraud" position in parliament to spearhead a response and improve collaboration across agencies.
While the UK has a minister for economic crime, the speakers in the room called for a bigger departmental role with policy responsibility for fraud.
The position of Minister of State for Security and Economic Crime, which was part of the Home Office, was recently filled by Dan Jarvis MBE, who is one of the few serving MPs to have been decorated for military service.
However, while his remit is to cover economic crime, his role specifically excludes fraud, as the Home Office website states:
- counter terrorism and extremism
- state threats
- cyber security and crime
- serious and organised crime
- oversight of the National Crime Agency
- anti-corruption
- economic crime (excluding fraud).
Anthony Agathangelou, founder of the Transparency Task Force and the organiser of the Summit, said: "We remain concerned by the amount of financial crime and fraud that’s taking place, particularly when fraud results in significant suffering, sometimes even suicide."
Agathangelou added the reason for the summit was: "To bring people together, those who have a passion and purpose for the change we want to see, and those with the power and position to make change possible."
The speakers called for better co-ordination and collaboration, but as Blackman said, the Summit was not intended to throw blame at regulators or enforcement agencies.
He said where there was criticism, that should be seen as simply constructive, so that "small changes along the way can make a big difference. "We should endeavour to be diligent, not defensive."
Sign Margaret Snowdon's Petition here:
In the preface to her petition, Snowdon writes: "There is a serious injustice in the tax system affecting historical victims of pension and investment fraud and it is having a devastating impact on people’s lives.
"On top of significant loss of retirement savings, HMRC applies punitive tax charges to these victims of up to 55 per cent, plus interest.
