Police to probe 'financial fraud' at Maesteg town council

Auditors were called in to investigate Maesteg council's accounts

Police are to investigate alleged financial fraud at a town council.

Auditors were called in to look into the accounts of Maesteg council earlier this year.

Their report has highlighted £34,000 of fraudulent expenditure over the last two financial years and claimed the former town clerk falsified invoices to make illegal payments to herself.

The financial mismanagement is likely to have cost the council "hundreds of thousands of pounds".

In a letter to the current town clerk, the internal audit report also raised concerns that the council had failed identify problems created by the former clerk.

The investigation found VAT expenditure had not been reclaimed for many years and the only receipt found dated back to 2008.

Writing to the council, the internal auditor GW Davies said HMRC only allowed councils to claim for the past three financial years.

"The loss of income to Maesteg Town Council could probably run into hundreds of thousands of pounds," he said.

The council's financial management had improved since last December and accounts were now being submitted properly, he added.

Ogmore MP Chris Elmore and local MS Huw Irranca-Davies said they were "shocked" by the report and residents of Maesteg had been "badly let down".

'Catastrophic failures'

"Residents of Maesteg rightly expect the town council to work assiduously on their behalf, and to account for every penny raised in local taxation," they said in a joint statement.

"The report catalogues a series of catastrophic failures of financial oversight and budgetary control.

"Significant funds may have been lost to the town council and local council tax payers, and we understand that police investigation into some matters is ongoing."