Serco caught in prisoner escort fraud claims

THE chief executive of FTSE 100 security firm Serco said he was “appalled” last night after the discovery of allegedly fradulent behaviour by some Serco staff working on a prisoner transfer contact.

 

Staff at the FTSE security firm are alleged to have recorded prisoners as having been delivered to court by its vans on time when in fact they were not – a key performance measure.

 

“I am deeply saddened and appalled at the misreporting of data by a small number of employees on the contract,” said Serco chief executive Chris Hyman last night.

 

The MoJ – which has called in City of London police to investigate – said the £41m-a-year contract had been put under immediate “administrative supervision”, and warned it could be terminated if any corporate involvement was proved.

 

In a statement, Serco said none of its board members had knowledge of this practice.  It has also agreed to pay £2m profits earned since the seven-year contract was renewed in 2011 and also forgo any future profits.  

 

Serco and rival firm G4S are already under investigation after they were found last month to have overcharged the taxpayer millions of pounds for electronic tagging.