How to spot if your partner is involved in ‘financial infidelity’

His now estranged wife, former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, said he “lied to me and betrayed me. What he has done to me I think will take me a very, very long time to recover from.”

These words are likely to have struck a chord with anyone whose partner or spouse committed.

So what can someone do when facing the ugly truth that their partner may have betrayed their financial trust?

Neil Hay, a partner with Brodies LLP, is one of Scotland’s leading criminal lawyers, providing strategic legal advice and specialist court representation to individuals, companies and organisations under investigation or facing prosecution.

He admitted there was “little that an ordinary person can do in the face of a determined, organised and clever fraudster at the time it's happening.”

Financial crimes can include fraud, embezzlement and theft, and can involve something as simple as a partner taking out a secret loan or a credit card, or much more complex cases where money has been taken from a workplace or organisation.

And while keeping these actions secret from a partner or loved one involves a great deal of deception, there are red flags to look out for.

“The most common signs are unexplained assets - people coming into possession of new property unexpectedly,” Neil said. “There could be unexplained or unusual spending, often luxury goods, the kind of goods that one can’t necessarily afford in their everyday life.”

Other tell-tale signs can be unusual transactions, something on a bank statement that doesn’t seem right, indications of a new account being set up online or unexplained letters or emails from banks or finance companies.

Sadly by the time a person spots these signs they may already be facing serious risks. If a couple have linked finances - a shared home, shared assets and shared debt - then they are particularly vulnerable, Neil warned, as their financial security is being put at risk, which could mean they don’t have the money needed to pay essential bills

“That’s probably the most immediate concern for people,” he said. “And there is also the risk that they are associated with the criminal act.

“If for instance money is transferred into a joint account then questions will be asked of all the account holders. So they could find themselves facing some uncomfortable questions and may even be the subject of a police investigation.”

So what, if anything, can a person do to protect themselves if they suspect a partner of financial infidelity?

Neil said the most obvious steps were common sense - being alert to suspicious activity, unexplained wealth, strange spending - and to take a close interest in their accounts so they were familiar with what was going in and out.

“That kind of simple behaviour can go a very long way to identifying any unusual activity in a family’s finances," he said.

“If, for instance, your partner is suddenly wearing designer clothes where before they hadn’t, there has to be some financial explanation, and just asking simple questions can help to identify if there is a problem.”

For anyone who does believe their partner may be committing financial crime, there are sources of help out there, Neil said, suggesting a first port of call might be the Citizens Advice Bureau, voluntary organisations, or contacting a solicitor to get advice on both the civil and criminal position you may be facing.

And if they believed a crime was being committed, they should report it to the police.

He added that: “The most important steps anyone can take in regards to this are to always think carefully before they sign up for anything. To be aware of exactly what they are signing. And to keep a close eye on their financial position now, so they can compare it to their financial position in future and be aware of anything unusual as soon as it occurs.”