Skip to content
openDemocracy
Subscribe

No prosecutions for furlough fraud, despite 30,000 allegations

Exclusive: UK authorities accused of sending a ‘green light’ to potential fraudsters by failing to create a strong deterrent

By Adam Bychawski
No prosecutions for furlough fraud, despite 30,000 allegations
HMRC offices in London | Russell Hart / Alamy Stock Photo. All rights reserved
Published:
Share

UK authorities have failed to make any prosecutions for furlough fraud, despite receiving tens of thousands of allegations, openDemocracy can reveal.

In March, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said it had opened 7,000 investigations, after being sent more than 28,000 reports of potential fraud. By August that number had topped 30,000.

But it has now confirmed that only 20 of these investigations have led to ongoing criminal enquiries – with just five people arrested to date.

This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence. If you have any queries about republishing please contact us. Please check individual images for licensing details.

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0