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<p>4772 calls were made to the COVID Fraud Hotline between its launch in October 2020
and its closure on 30 September 2022. Of these, 4300 were disseminated to the relevant
department or organisation for investigation. The remainder are being processed and
will be disseminated before March 2023.</p><p>Investigations take time to get to the
stage where the Crown Prosecution Service can consider prosecution, and further time
to go through the court system to secure convictions. Our Hotline intelligence is
forwarded to the relevant department/agency for consideration for investigation, with
the decision to investigate sitting with the relevant department/agency. The department/agency
then submits cases for consideration for prosecution, with the decision being taken
by the CPS in most cases.</p><p>The value of intelligence is not only for progressing
prosecutions - the sharing of intelligence with the BBL accredited lenders has led
to interventions and recoveries by the lenders. In addition, the Hotline intelligence
has helped government to better understand the threat across Government and significantly
contributed to media campaigns by providing guidance to the general public.<strong><br></strong></p><p>
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