In the Channel Islands, the Guernsey Government have been subjected to fraudulent activity which resulted in them in paying £2.6m to a fraudster. The Treasury and Resources department received a letter purporting to be from a Bona Fide Contractor who was undertaking a major redevelopment of the islands airport. The letter advised them of ta change in Bank Account details.
You can guess the rest. Some had been channelling their money away.
The Public Accounts committee will investigate this incident and no doubt make recommendations. The consequences are:
- reputational damage,
- possibly an unrecoverable financial loss, as the media speculate the insurance would not cover the matter
- and the resignation of the head of department after 34 years’ service.
As the incident involved public money it is subject to greater external scrutiny and transparency. How many private sector organisations have succumbed to such a scam that for obvious reasons we will never hear about.
What is your organisation doing to prevent such losses?
Need any help give me, Ray Gambell a call on 01744 20698 or email me on [email protected]
