Britain’s anti-fraud minister Theodore Agnew has resigned, in protest at what he said were “unfortunate efforts to stop the misuse of government plans in the coronavirus emergency lending program”.
The Financial Times, a UK economic daily newspaper, reported that Lord Theodore Agnew, who has held the position of Minister for Efficiency and Transformation in the Treasury and Cabinet Office since February 2020 and was responsible for anti-fraud efforts, said he was unable to defend the government’s record, after being asked about the existence of fraud of Corona emergency lending program.
“The Department of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy demonstrated unfortunate oversight of COVID loan plans, which led to large amounts of fraud,” Agnew said.
He noted that “the Treasury Department appears to have little knowledge or interest in the consequences of fraud on our economy or society which led to freezing the government’s work mechanism.”
More than £47 billion has been awarded to more than 1.1 million small businesses in the United Kingdom (UK) under the government’s loan scheme, which was aimed at rescuing small businesses at risk during the pandemic.
The National Audit Office, which scrutinizes public sector spending, said in December the government had failed to properly protect against fraud in its 47 billion pounds ($63 billion) coronavirus emergency lending program for small businesses, opening the way for billions of dollars.
