Gambling companies compensate Dundee council in wake of employee fraud
News on 15 Dec 2017
News on 15 Dec 2017
The Dundee City Council has managed to almost break even after closing the books on an eight year, million pound sterling fraud by an employee who blew the money on online gambling sites, according to local media reports.
Employee Mark Conway made off with GBP 1,065,000 in eight years of embezzlement that was only uncovered in May 2016.
Most of the loss was covered by an unspecified ex-gratia payment to the Council by unidentified gambling companies, the Council’s chief executive David Martin said, briefing the scrutiny committee this week.
Martin said the money was given to the council because the gambling industry did not want to be seen to be benefiting from the proceeds of crime.
Councillor Richard McCready tabled a motion calling on the council to write to HM Treasury and Conway’s banks and building societies to ask why money laundering systems had not pinpointed him as a “red flag” risk.
The motion also called for the chief executive of the council to write to the UK Gambling Commission and the government’s Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), making it clear that online gambling companies were “complicit” in the fraud and asking what actions they intended to take to rectify the issue.
The city council was able to recoup almost all of the money lost through Conway’s fraud, apart from a GBP 10,000 insurance excess payment and GBP 7,943 in fees for professional auditing and forensic services.
