The UK government has upgraded its fraud detection capabilities to better detect fraud committed against the public sector.
Its AI-based fraud detection tool, the Single Network Analytics Platform, was initially launched by the Public Sector Fraud Authority in 2023 as part of a £4 million partnership with Quantexa. It was agreed that the tool would be regularly updated with new datasets.
Quantexa’s AI technology analyses millions of pieces of public sector data. It will be used as part of the government’s efforts to detect improper claims on public funds through mechanisms like contracts, grants, and loans. With the release of the PSFA’s SNAP 2 Platform, Quantexa’s AI technology will enable the Financial Conduct Authority and Companies House to identify shell companies and bad actors.
Adding sanctions and debarments data to the platform
Quantexa has been working with the PSFA – which was set up to help public bodies tackle fraud against the public purse – on its Decision Intelligence Platform, including Entity Resolution, Graph Analytics, and Artificial Intelligence, to find and prevent more fraud across the public sector.
The upgrade, which took effect earlier in March, saw three new datasets uploaded to the Single Network Analytics Platform:
- 18,000 UK and US sanctioned entities, including those introduced following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
- 1,000 World Bank debarments, that are deemed ineligible for World Bank contracts
- 647,000 UK dormant companies, that do not have any income
Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG, Minister of State at the Cabinet Office, said adding sanctions and debarments data to the platform “is a major step up in our capability that will help us identify organised networks stealing from the public purse.
“This comes on top of new funding announced in the Spring Budget that will see the government invest a further £34 million into the Public Sector Fraud Authority to build the next generation of counter fraud technology.”
Baroness Neville-Rolfe said this would save taxpayers an estimated £100 million over three years.
Connecting more data to find and prevent fraud
“With the latest release of PSFA’s SNAP 2 Platform, Quantexa’s AI technology is enabling the UK government to connect its data to spot otherwise hidden indicators and patterns that could pose a risk to government programmes,” said Vishal Marria, CEO of Quantexa. “Together this is how we drive innovation and continue the journey to achieve greater efficiencies by empowering investigative teams with the solutions and context they need to form trusted decisions at speed, to protect and optimise the use of government resources and funding.”
“The upgrades we are making to our SNAP 2 Platform will give the government a greater understanding of the networks and entities potentially defrauding taxpayers. Working with departments and public bodies the Public Sector Fraud Authority will use this platform to connect more data to find and prevent more fraud,” said Mark Cheeseman OBE, chief executive of the Public Sector Fraud Authority.
