There is an ongoing police investigation into a suspected historic £236k fraud within the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC), a report has said.
Auditors wrote in their report to the Joint Audit Committee of the police and crime commissioner for Bedfordshire and the chief constable for Bedfordshire Police, that the OPCC made them aware of the suspected historic fraud.
The report, which was published on the OPCC website on Thursday, March 30, 2023, said: “While officers have ultimate responsibility for prevention and detection of fraud, we are required to obtain reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatement, including those arising as a result of fraud.”
A full investigation into suspected fraud was performed by an independent consultant, while Internal Audit performed a review of the OPCC’s commissioning arrangements.
The report said these investigations found five suspected fraudulent payments totalling £236,000 between April 2020 and October 2021.
It added that the matter related to just one grant-receiving body.
A spokesperson for the Bedfordshire OPCC said: “We identified some financial irregularities in relation to funds awarded to commissioned projects in 2020 and 2021 during a review instigated by the incoming chief executive in late 2021.
“The matter was immediately referred to Bedfordshire Police for an investigation which remains ongoing with four people currently on police bail, including one former employee who has since left the OPCC.
“The commissioning process has been completely overhauled since that review and is now subject to regular independent scrutiny.
“While it would be inappropriate to comment about the specific circumstances while the investigation is ongoing, it is important to clarify no further payments were made to the organisation linked to the financial irregularities.
“Neither has it affected the running of any of the commissioned services for victims of crime, abuse, and exploitation in Bedfordshire.”
