Customs and Associate Police Minister Casey Costello will travel to London tomorrow to attend the Global Fraud Summit.

The Summit has been called by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and will be attended by the G7 and Five Eyes groups of countries together with Singapore and South Korea. INTERPOL, EUROPOL and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime are also represented.

“In New Zealand, as with many similar countries, fraud and deception offending has become the most prevalent crime and it causes not only significant financial loss for victims but a loss of trust in business and institutions,” Ms Costello said.

“Much of this type of offending originates from overseas groups that target multiple countries in their operation and links between transnational fraud, international organised crime, and money laundering are an increasing feature.

“International co-operation is needed to address these crimes and it’s important to engage with partners around these issues.”

The Summit, on March 11 and 12, has two high level objectives: to prevent fraud by sharing information and agreeing international policy solutions; and to fight fraud by strengthening law enforcement co-operation as well as building fraud capacity and capability.

Ms Costello will be meeting with UK Ministers prior to the Summit and with border protection and law enforcement agencies. The Minister will also be meeting with law enforcement and financial ministers while attending the summit.

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