Some of the Whitehall frauds stopped by whistleblowing
Taken from HM Treasury Fraud Reports 2002/3 and 2001/2
£180,000
This fraud came to light when a member of staff reported concerns about the behaviour of a colleague over the issue of giro payments. An investigation revealed that the official had been making payments to himself. He was convicted of fraud and jailed for 3 years. Changes in internal procedures to reduce the risk of similar frauds being perpetrated in the future.
£150,000
An allegation was received that an organisation contracted to find jobs for the unemployed had claimed success for people not permitted to work in the UK. A joint investigation by three government departments and the police is underway.
£135,000
An official employed since 1996 manipulated financial systems to fraudulently direct payments into various bank accounts. Absence of segregation of duties and weaknesses in other controls allowed the fraud to be perpetrated, which was discovered as a result of information from a third party. The fraudulent civil servant was convicted and jailed for 27 months. Action is being taken to recover all losses and improve internal controls.
£124,264
An ex-employee of a training provider reported that it had claimed funds for trainees who had not completed the training. Recovery action has been initiated against the provider which has agreed to implement new controls and the department will improve its monitoring.
£25,000
As a result of internal disciplinary action a member of staff was moved from a post that attracted a shift disturbance and flexible working allowance to one that did not. The official continued to receive payment of the allowance in error and failed to disclose the overpayment. It came to light when a member of the HR team questioned why the allowance was being paid. Early indications suggest the overpayment was due to poor controls. The police are investigating.
£10,850
Acting on information received from a third party it was discovered that an official had taken advantage of weak controls in a procurement procedure to defraud a department. The fraud involved obtaining inflated cash advances for the purchase of goods or services (e.g. dry cleaning) and amending invoices provided by the suppliers to correspond with the cash advances obtained. The officer concerned was dismissed and arrested by the police. New procedures, designed to reduce the risk of such frauds in future, have been implemented.
Public Concern at Work
14 June 2004
020 7404 6609