Britain to Appoint Covid Corruption Tsar in Bid to Recover £3bn Lost to Fraud

Britain’s new government is set to appoint a commissioner to co-ordinate investigations into Covid contract fraud and recover approximately £3bn lost to swindles. The so-called “Covid Corruption Tsar” will work with HMRC, the Serious Fraud Office, and the National Crime Agency as part of an all-out strategy to reclaim billions of pounds.

New Chancellor Rachel Reeves aims for the Treasury to recoup £2.6bn lost through waste, fraud, and flawed contracts. The HMRC, SFO, and NCA have been gearing up for months in anticipation of the new government’s long-signalled crackdown on Covid fraud.

“It’s a way of targeting the corruption that was allowed to proliferate under the last government – which that government ignored – but also a way to generate billions for the exchequer,” said an insider. “Some of this is low hanging fruit, others will involve major investigations but it is important to get the message across that industrial fraud at this scale will not be tolerated,” the source added.

In total, it is estimated that £7.6bn was lost in Covid-related fraud, including grants, business loans, and other handouts. Labour stated during the election campaign that billions could be recovered from fraudulent contracts. However, some £4bn of the total is thought to be irrecoverable.

Reeves is set to address MPs today, stating that the commissioner will “get back what is owed to the British people,” emphasizing that the money has been “in the hands of fraudsters” when it belongs in public services. “I will not tolerate waste. I will treat taxpayers’ money with respect and I will return stability to our public finances,” the Chancellor is expected to say in a prepared statement.

The search for the new “Covid Corruption Tsar” will begin later this week, and the appointed individual will report directly to Reeves under the auspices of the Department of Health and Social Care.

“The past government hiked taxes, while allowing waste and inefficiency to spiral out of control,” said Reeves. “Nowhere was this more evident than during the pandemic, particularly when it came to PPE. Because the former prime minister when he was chancellor signed cheque after cheque after cheque for billions of pounds’ worth of contracts that did not deliver for the NHS when it needed it. That is unacceptable.”

Plans in the Labour manifesto included:

- A review of sentencing on fraud and corruption conducted against the public purse

- Reform of procurement to include a “debarment and exclusion” regime for anyone complicit in fraud

Official figures revealed that the government wasted nearly £10bn in total on unusable PPE during the Covid crisis. Accounts published in January showed nearly three-quarters of the amount spent on PPE during the pandemic was written off.

By fLEXI tEAM