Updated approach to procurement uncovers theft at National Trust
The theft of £1 million from the National Trust was discovered after the organisation updated its approach to procurement in 2013.
A former National Trust employee was found to have ‘abused his position of trust’ at Bristol Crown Court in September and was jailed alongside his two sons, who were accused of laundering the proceeds of the fraud.
Roger Bryant and his sons James and Scott were handed sentences of six-and-a-half years, four years and two years suspended for 18 months respectively, for their part in defrauding the charity for more than five years.
The Court heard that Roger Bryant had been employed by the National Trust as a building surveyor when he fraudulently authorised 148 invoices from two companies linked to his sons, for work that wasn’t done. The money was being transferred into the accounts of James and Scott.
The fraud was only uncovered during an update to the charity’s approach to procurement when a company linked to James Bryant was flagged as the biggest supplier to the Trust in that area, though none of the managers had heard of it.
When confronted, Roger Bryant said that the company in question had existed and had done the work.
However, when the Trust investigated further and visited the sites to look at the work they had been told was carried out, it either had not been or if it had, it was not the same as had been specified on the schedule of works and was not of the standard expected by the National Trust.
Between January 2008 and October 2013, the charity made 112 payments totalling £1,061,096.29 to JR Contracting and SB Construction, both of which were controlled by James Bryant.
Then between February 2011 and October 2013 a further 36 payments, totalling £64,208.57, were made to SB Construction.
After the fraud was uncovered, Roger Bryant attempted to pervert the course of justice by various means.
This included trying to hide paperwork and attempting to persuade witnesses to lie, but solid evidence and the testimony of an expert witness refuted his claims of innocence.
Roger Isaacs, National Technical Director of NIFA, said: “This case highlights the fact that even the best forensic accountants can only do so much if they are restricted to reviewing documents. There are occasions when there is no substitute for a site visit.”
Sources: Telegraph
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