South Wales Police is investigating allegations that one employee of trade union Unite committed criminal offences. The force is working with His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to probe accusations of bribery, fraud, money-laundering and tax evasion.
More than 20 officers from South Wales Police carried out a raid last April at the Unite offices in central London. They reportedly seized documentation, notebooks and a computer. At the time officers also searched premises in the South Wales, North Wales, Dyfed-Powys, Merseyside, Cheshire, and Northamptonshire police areas.
South Wales Police has now written to the union — which is the second biggest in the UK — giving an update on the investigation. The letter says the force and HMRC are investigating "a number of suspected offences concerning a single employee of Unite the Union together with several companies, concerning the criminal offences of bribery, fraud, money-laundering and tax evasion".
