10:35am Friday 3rd March 2006
By Sarah Bell
A SERIOUS fraud worth £359,000 within Richmond upon Thames Council is being investigated by police.
The fraud, which is believed to have been carried out by one person, thought to be a member of staff, was uncovered by the council's internal auditors.
They are now working with police in a bid to bring charges.
The council sought a High Court order freezing the assets of the individual accused of the fraud and said it is vigorously pursuing all avenues for the return of the misappropriated funds.
A spokesman said: "We will not tolerate criminality in any form.
"Until such time as those criminal proceedings are brought, the police have advised that it would not be appropriate to discuss the details of the case any further.
"However, we can say that the total amount involved is £359k.
"Leading members from both political parties, the council's external auditors and the chairman of the audit committee of the council have received confidential verbal briefings on the incident and the action being taken.
"A confidential written report was submitted to cabinet, and copied to all council members at the earliest possible opportunity.
"Where control issues have been identified, immediate action is being taken to address the issues, but the council's procedures are regularly reviewed by both internal and external audit services as well as the council's management.
"The auditor has praised the council for improving its financial and risk management procedures over recent years but it is an unfortunate fact that in an organisation as large as ours it is impossible to provide 100 per cent protection against the possibility of criminal activity.
"We have a zero tolerance policy and will press for prosecution of every person who defrauds the public."
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.richmondandtwickenhamtimes.co.uk