A fake Bollywood movie producer, a conman who posed as an MI6 agent and a criminal who stole more £12 million from the NHS, have been named among Britain’s ten most wanted fraudsters.

The police have appealed for the public’s help to catch the men and women who are thought to be responsible for more than £20 million in fraud losses in the UK and abroad.

Figures out later this week are expected to confirm that fraud is now the most common crime in Britain, accounting more than 5 million offences each year.

In February the then Home Secretary, Theresa May, set up the Joint Fraud Taskforce, which brought together law enforcement agencies, the financial sector and the Government as part of a concerted new effort to help fight criminals who prey on the public.

That taskforce has now produced a most wanted list of fraudsters who they are desperate to track down and bring to justice.