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<p>The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is not an investigative agency and will only
bring cases to court that have been referred by the police or another Law Enforcement
Agency.</p><p>The Financial Conduct Authority has regulatory responsibility for payday
lenders along with other financial institutions and may either investigate criminal
conduct themselves or refer it to another agency or force, as appropriate.</p><p>There
has been recent publicity about the conduct of one particular payday lender, Wonga.
It was widely reported that the Financial Conduct Authority are to refer a file to
the police for consideration of whether a criminal investigation is appropriate. This
followed the announcement that Wonga would pay £2.6 million in compensation, after
sending letters from non-existent law firms to customers in arrears.</p><p>The CPS
Deputy Head of the Specialist Fraud Division has met with the City of London Police
to discuss this case. City of London Police are the national police lead in substantial
fraud investigations. At this stage, the police have still to consider whether a criminal
investigation is required and no advice has been sought from the CPS. Any referral
to the CPS will be made to the Specialist Fraud Division.</p><p> </p>
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