FRAUD AND ERROR IN UK COVID FURLOUGH SCHEME COULD HIT GBP3.5 BILLION
August 2nd, 2020
The UK’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme could have paid out up to GBP3.5 billion (USD4.56 billion) fraudulently or by error, a senior treasury official told a parliamentary committee on September 7. The scheme, which pays out 80% of a previous salary to workers furloughed during the Covid-19 crisis, has cost the country GBP35.4 billion (USD45.99 billion) since March. However, Jim Harra, first permanent secretary and chief executive, of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) told the House of Commons public accounts committee that “the error and fraud ...
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