Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Fraud definition

What does Fraud mean? Fraud describes dishonest conduct intended to secure a gain or cause a loss, usually through deception, and arises in criminal prosecutions, civil claims (deceit and fraudulent misrepresentation) and regulatory enforcement. In England and Wales and Northern Ireland, the Fraud Act 2006 creates a single offence of fraud (section 1), committed by dishonestly: (a) making a false representation (to a person, system or device); (b) failing to disclose information when under a legal duty to disclose; or (c) abusing a position. In each case there must be an intention to make a gain or to cause loss or risk...

Civil fraud in England and Wales: dishonesty (Ivey), blind-eye knowledge, recklessness, standard of proof, evidencing and inferring dishonesty, expert evidence, criminal convictions and costs

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Practice notes

This Practice Note considers the Standard of proof in civil claims based on the defendant’s alleged Fraud.

It addresses the test for Dishonesty (per Ivey v Genting) and identifies when a court may draw an inference of dishonesty (and therefore fraud) from facts it finds proved. This discussion is separate, albeit connected, to the issues of pleading fraud and dishonesty—see Practice Note: Civil fraud—pleading fraud and dishonesty.

This Practice Note considers:

the standard of proof in civil fraud cases
dishonesty in a civil context
whether recklessness equates to dishonesty, and the concepts of ‘targeted suspicion’ and ‘blind-eye knowledge’
evidencing and proving dishonesty in civil claims, including: the general approach to evidence in fraud cases, whether the alleged fraud ought to have been obvious, the witnesses (their credibility or their absence) and the position of third parties
whether dishonesty can be inferred in civil fraud claims
the use of expert evidence to assess dishonesty
the impact of criminal convictions on civil fraud claims
what follows when awarding costs where dishonesty is established
the consequences of pursuing a claim ‘dishonestly’

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Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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