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".
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It continues: "In relation to Unite the Union, it is suspected that a contracted-out service and several affiliated services were awarded on behalf of Unite to companies controlled by other linked persons, in return for personal financial and other rewards. We understand that the employee under investigation is no longer in a position to make any decisions relating to contracts with external providers on behalf of Unite.
"The warrant executed at Unite’s headquarters in April was specifically limited to one office and other areas controlled by the employee concerned. It was carried out discreetly by a small team of plain clothes officers using unmarked cars and they received full cooperation by senior staff present on the day.
"Due to the seriousness and level of complexity involved in this type of investigation, a dedicated team of specialist officers from South Wales Police and HMRC has been set up in order to specifically investigate the suspected offences. Unite are working closely with the investigation and in September 2022 a PACE Production Order was served upon Unite requiring them to produce certain specific material relevant to the investigation.
"There continues to be a good level of cooperation between Unite and the investigation facilitated by an external/third party legal team appointed by Unite. The investigation is still in its early stages. Once all of the material is reviewed and the other parts of the investigation completed, if the required threshold is met, a file will be passed to a specialist prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration of a charging decision."
The BBC has reported that Unite's top official, General Secretary Sharon Graham, ordered a "forensic inquiry" by accountants Grant Thornton into contracts which were awarded to some of the union's outside suppliers over a number of years. "The current leadership had been concerned about the cost and duration of some contracts that had been awarded before Ms Graham became the union's general secretary in 2021," the broadcaster reported.
The internal inquiry is reportedly complete but yet to be published "because of the possibility that laws had been breached" according to the BBC, which reports that the findings were handed over to South Wales Police. A Unite source has told the BBC that the union is engaging in "the opposite of a cover up".
WalesOnline has approached South Wales Police and Unite for more details. A Unite spokesperson said last April: “A Unite employee is subject to a criminal investigation by the police. On Wednesday, April 6, the employee’s office at Unite HQ, in Holborn, London, was accessed and searched by the police under warrant.”
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