Anti-fraud squad to target Covid crooks with powers to seize cash and raid properties

Ministers volition enactment fraudsters connected announcement arsenic caller authorities is introduced to Parliament contiguous to beef up powers to claw backmost currency from Covid crooks and payment cheats

A counter-fraud squad volition beryllium fixed powerfulness to raid the properties of Covid crooks and retrieve taxpayers’ cash from their slope accounts.

Ministers volition enactment fraudsters connected announcement arsenic caller authorities is introduced to Parliament contiguous to treble the clip bounds for civilian claims from six to 12 years. The Cabinet Office’s Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) volition beryllium fixed much powers, which volition use retrospectively, including the quality to raid properties and retrieve wealth from fraudsters' slope accounts successful the astir superior cases.

It comes aft the Government appointed a caller Covid corruption commissioner past month, who volition reappraisal the £8.7billion of PPE bought during the pandemic that past had to beryllium written off. He is besides expected to look astatine the Tory government's determination to wantonness attempts to claw backmost wealth from deals worthy £674million.

Cabinet Office Minister Georgia Gould said: “During the pandemic, erstwhile radical and businesses needed authorities enactment the most, immoderate radical stole nationalist wealth for their ain idiosyncratic gain.

"This authorities gives the authorities pugnacious caller powers that tin beryllium utilized to analyse and retrieve wealth stolen from the nationalist during Covid and doubles the clip we person to bring fraudsters to justice.”

The changes volition travel successful the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error & Recovery) Bill, which volition besides incorporate measures to combat payment cheats. Welfare fraudsters could beryllium stripped of their driving licences if they repeatedly neglect to reimburse the nationalist and repay their debt.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) volition beryllium capable to use to the tribunal to suspend fraudsters from driving, provided the indebtedness is £1,000 oregon implicit and predominant requests to repay the indebtedness person been ignored. DWP’s superior organised transgression investigators volition besides beryllium handed powers to use to a tribunal for hunt warrants to hunt premises and prehend items specified arsenic computers and smartphones arsenic evidence.

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said: “We are turning disconnected the pat to criminals who cheat the strategy and bargain law-abiding taxpayers’ money."

The Government said determination would beryllium safeguarding measures to support susceptible people, arsenic good arsenic oversight mechanisms to show the usage of the pugnacious caller powers.

The DWP said the determination would prevention £1.5 cardinal implicit the adjacent 5 years arsenic it faces unit to marque extremist cuts to the benefits measure arsenic portion of wider efforts to chopped nationalist spending.