The amount lost to alleged fraud in the East of England in 2021fell by 93pc compared to the year before, down to £4m from £56.7m.

KPMG UK's latest Fraud Barometer, which published the figures, said that the significant decrease is largely attributable to two cases in 2020, which had a combined value of £53.5m.

By contrast, the two largest cases in 2021 had a combined value of £2.3m.

In addition, the number of alleged fraud cases heard in East Anglian courts was down from 10 cases in 2020 to six in 2021.

Just one alleged fraud case was heard in the region's courts during the second half of 2021, compared to seven in the similar period in 2020.

Kathryn Wasteney, director for KPMG in the East of England practice warned that although fraud cases in the region are down the "fraud risk remains high".

She said: "There has been an exponential increase in fraud attacks since the start of the pandemic with fraudsters continuously looking for new ways to defraud potential victims as they increase the sophistication of their activities.

“The Covid-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on the UK’s legal system and despite the efforts made by those working within the system the backlog of unheard cases has continued to increase, to the point where just one alleged fraud case was heard in the region’s courts during the second half of 2021.

“Our Fraud Barometer data for the region indicates that commercial businesses remain common targets for fraud, most frequently from within by their own employees or management team. This highlights the importance of having robust fraud prevention controls in place and remaining alert for fraud”.

Some of the notable cases that reached the East of England courts during 2021 include a former IT manager who admitted defrauding his former employer, an NHS Trust, out of £806,000 in a series of fraudulent acts spanning a seven-year period. A gambling addict who lost £1.3m to betting firms and who admitted to siphoning funds from his employer, a clothing firm, over a four-year period. As well as a man who has been jailed for more than three years for his £330,000 fraud from an online payment platform.