Prosecutions and conviction data: FOI release
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Information requested
The following data for the years 2013/14 to 2024/25:
1. Fraud. The number of prosecutions commenced and convictions secured for Fraud offences. Please break these data down by: Conspiracy to defraud, Corrupt transactions, and Abuse of position.
2. Money Laundering. The number of prosecutions commenced and convictions secured for Money Laundering offences. Please break down these data by:
a) Individuals and corporate entities.
b) Breaches which equate to the following sections in the UK (as opposed to Scotland). Proceeds of Crime Act 2002: Section 327, Section 328, Section 329, and Section 330.
c) Breaches of The Money Laundering Regulations 2007 and The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017.
3. Bribery. The number of prosecutions commenced and convictions secured for Bribery offences. Please break down these data by: Offering Bribes, Receiving Bribes, and Failure to Prevent Bribery.
4. Misconduct in Public Office. The number of prosecutions commenced and convictions secured for the common law offence of "wilful neglect of duty by a public official".
Response
The Scottish Government does not have all the information you have asked for. Reasons for this and other authorities/organisations that may have the information you have asked for has been highlighted and addresses below. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have all of the information you have requested.
You asked, please provide the following data for the years 2013/14 to 2024/25:
1. Fraud. The number of prosecutions commenced and convictions secured for Fraud offences. Please break these data down by: Conspiracy to defraud, Corrupt transactions, and Abuse of position.
Criminal Proceedings in Scotland statistics show no prosecutions under common law for a main charge of "Conspiracy to defraud", "Corrupt transactions" or "Abuse of position" within the available portion (2013-14 to 2023-24) of the requested time period. It may be possible that crimes of this nature were prosecuted under statutory legislation. We would need to know the specific act(s) and section(s) in order to provide the desired data. You may wish to contact COPFS for information on how such offences would be prosecuted.
2. Money Laundering. The number of prosecutions commenced and convictions secured for Money Laundering offences. Please break down these data by:
a) Individuals and corporate entities
Criminal Proceedings in Scotland statistics are drawn from the Criminal History System - a police database intended for use by officers to query the criminal history of an individual - they are not well suited for recording corporate crime. We are therefore unable to provide a useful breakdown for this part. You may wish to try asking SCTS for this information.
b) Breaches which equate to the following sections in the UK (as opposed to Scotland). Proceeds of Crime Act 2002: Section 327, Section 328, Section 329, and Section 330.
The data held by the Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database have been provided. See attached spreadsheet 202500494921 - Proceeds of crime Act 2002.
Sheet1: Breakdown of number of people proceeded against, where main charge, where crime or offence falls under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in Criminal Proceedings in Scotland: 2013-14 to 2023-24.
Sheet2: Breakdown of number of people convicted, where main charge, where crime or offence falls under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in Criminal Proceedings in Scotland: 2013- 14 to 2023-24.
Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database can not supply data for UK for the requested Sections. This would need to be requested from individual nations directly.
c) Breaches of The Money Laundering Regulations 2007 and The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017.
Data held by the Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database have been provided in attached spreadsheet 202500494921 - Money laundering.
Sheet1: Number of people prosecuted against, where main charge, where crime or offence is either The Money Laundering Regulations 2007 or The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 in Criminal Proceedings in Scotland: 2013-14 to 2023-24.
Sheet2: Number of people convicted, where main charge, where crime or offence is either The Money Laundering Regulations 2007 or The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 in Criminal Proceedings in Scotland: 2013-14 to 2023-24.
3. Bribery. The number of prosecutions commenced and convictions secured for Bribery offences. Please break down these data by: Offering Bribes, Receiving Bribes, and Failure to Prevent Bribery.
Criminal Proceedings in Scotland statistics show no prosecutions under common law for a main charge of "Offering bribes", "Receiving bribes" or "Failing to prevent bribery" within the available portion (2013-14 to 2023-24) of the requested time period. It may be possible that crimes of this nature were prosecuted under statutory legislation, such as the Bribery Act 2010. We would need to know the specific act(s) and section(s) desired in order to provide this data.
You may also wish to contact COPFS for clarity on how such offences would be prosecuted.
4. Misconduct in Public Office. The number of prosecutions commenced and convictions secured for the common law offence of "wilful neglect of duty by a public official".
The common law offence of misconduct in public office does not operate in Scotland. However, there is a comparable common law offence in Scots law of wilful neglect of duty. The following Parliamentary Question highlights a similar issue Written question and answer: S6W-39270 | Scottish Parliament Website.
In light of this data help by the Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database that fall under Scots law of wilful neglect of duty have been provided in the attached spreadsheet 202500494921 - Wilful neglect of duty.
Sheet1: Breakdown of number of people proceeded against, where main charge, where crime or offence falls under Wilful neglect of duty in Criminal Proceedings in Scotland: 2013-14 to 2023-24.
Sheet2: Breakdown of number of people convicted, where main charge, where crime or offence falls under Wilful neglect of duty in Criminal Proceedings in Scotland: 2013-14 to 2023-24.
About FOI
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Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Correspondence Unit
Email: contactus@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG