Council accuses police of mishandling fraud investigation into local authority-owned company
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Medway Council has backed a motion calling for the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to investigate Kent Police's handling of a seven-year fraud investigation.
Members voted in favour of the motion on Thursday (15 October), following a report from the council's monitoring officer which raised concerns about delays and a potential conflict of interest in the police investigation.
The investigation concerned Medway Commercial Group, a local authority trading company (LATCO) established by the council in 2015.
The council had referred the company to Kent Police in 2018 after a whistleblower alleged that some company officers and board members were potentially using the company for personal benefit.
The whistleblower also alleged that officers and board members were mismanaging company funds through fraudulent activity.
Kent Police investigated the allegations over a seven-year period before closing the case in 2025, citing the unavailability of relevant material, the age of the matters under investigation and the realistic prospect of securing a successful criminal justice outcome.
However, senior council officers have raised concerns about the handling of the investigation.
A report authored by Medway's monitoring officer, Bhupinder Gill, said senior officers believed that had certain information been requested earlier, "it is likely that the council would have been able to respond more positively, which in turn may have led to a more effective investigation".
The report also highlighted a potential conflict of interest within Kent Police. It recommended that members lodge a complaint with the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and request that another police force investigate the allegations in light of the potential conflict.
Speaking at Thursday's full council meeting, Medway's leader, Vince Maple, said Kent Police had "badly let down the taxpayers of Medway".
He also claimed that delays in the police investigation had prevented the council from pursuing civil action.
Regarding the timing and quality of the police inquiry, he said: "The report also shows in appendix 4 the questions that were asked seven years into that investigation. I believe most fair-minded people would agree that those questions would have been appropriate to be asked in the first couple of weeks of the investigation, not more than half a decade later."
Despite the referral, Cllr Maple stressed that the local authority continues to have a good working relationship with the police force.
A Kent Police spokesperson meanwhile described the investigation as “highly complex in its nature”.
They added: “[The investigation was] carried out by specialist detectives from the force’s Economic Crime Unit, who followed a number of lines of enquiry including the review of a significant quantity of financial documents.
"After considering all the available information, it was determined that the case did not meet the evidential threshold for a criminal prosecution. The investigation has therefore concluded and no further action will be taken unless any additional information comes to light in the future.
"Contact has been made with all interested parties to make them aware of the decision. The force hasn’t received a formal complaint to date but will process it accordingly if one is submitted."
Adam Carey
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