A Bishop Auckland councillor who defrauded the NHS and a trade union out of more than £80,000 has been jailed.

https://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/2022-04-14/bishop-auckland-councillor-who-defrauded-more-than-80k-from-nhs-has-been-jailed

Government fraud investigators are looking into contracts to supply the NHS with PPE during the pandemic, officials at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) have said.

https://www.dunfermlinepress.com/news/20081449.government-fraud-investigators-probe-ppe-contracts-mps-told/?ref=twtrec

Niall Hearty of financial crime specialists Rahman Ravelli takes a look at whether the recently-announced Public Sector Fraud Authority will be effective.

https://www.lawyer-monthly.com/2022/04/will-the-public-sector-fraud-authority-be-effective/

2021-22 reports will include statements on the impact of the pandemic on departmental goals plus a fraud-and-error analysis of Covid schemes

https://www.civilserviceworld.com/professions/article/onethird-of-departments-set-to-miss-annualreport-deadline-treasury-says#.YmkdkyhEgVE.twitter

The government was “complacent in preventing fraud” against the Covid Bounce Back Loan Scheme and will lose almost £5bn to scammers, according to a Westminster committee.

https://www.cityam.com/mps-say-government-was-complacent-on-covid-fraud-in-new-report/

Sir Keir Starmer has called for the National Crime Agency to probe over £11.8billion of Covid fraud. Speaking exclusively to the Sunday Mirror, the Labour leader suggested that an NCA investigation could help tackle the rising costs of living.

https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/uk-world-news/keir-starmer-nca-probe-billions-23768509

A member of staff at Brighton University has been arrested as part of a fraud investigation.

https://www.brightonandhovenews.org/2022/04/23/brighton-university-member-of-staff-arrested-on-suspicion-of-fraud/

Two company directors have had their permissions restricted after falsely applying for bounce back loans during the pandemic.

https://www.ftadviser.com/companies/2022/04/21/two-company-directors-punished-for-bounce-back-loan-fraud/

HMRC has confiscated assets worth £39m in around a year – a more than 700 per cent increase from 2020.

https://www.cityam.com/taxman-ramps-up-asset-confiscation-amid-covid-19-fraud-boom/

ICAEW’s Emily Seiorse and Alex Russell describe a common scenario around fraud in COVID-19 support schemes, and explain how auditors can maximise the likelihood of fraud detection.

https://www.icaew.com/insights/viewpoints-on-the-news/2022/apr-2022/pushing-back-on-bounce-back-loan-fraud