Revealed: Benefits staff were told to pay foreign crime gangs hundreds of millions after top staff ignored the warnings
- Staff were ordered to pay tens of millions to foreign criminals during pandemic
- It’s claimed benefits bosses operated a policy of ‘blindly trusting’ applications
- Department for Work and Pensions admitted losing £6.4m to fraud in past year
Benefits staff were ordered to pay tens of millions of pounds to foreign criminals during the pandemic – despite suspecting fraud, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Senior civil servants told staff at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) who sounded the alert to make the payments, according to Government whistleblowers.
Investigators working for the department say benefits bosses operated a policy of ‘blindly trusting’ all applications at face value – including claims made using fake IDs by Romanian criminal gangs and fraudsters from other Eastern European countries.
Last week, the DWP admitted losing £6.4 billion to fraud in the past year, down from a record £6.5 billion in 2021/22. Almost £300 million of the latest total was committed from abroad – much of it suspected to involve organised crime.
The DWP blamed fraudsters ‘taking advantage of temporary easements… during the pandemic to pay people who needed help’.
Senior civil servants told staff at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) who sounded the alert to make the payments, according to Government whistleblowers
Last week, the DWP admitted losing £6.4 billion to fraud in the past year, down from a record £6.5 billion in 2021/22
But in a report to the Commons Public Accounts Committee, whistleblowers said senior civil servants had undermined the payments system by deliberately ignoring checks.
One DWP investigator told MPs: ‘Significant amounts of money were knowingly paid out incorrectly. I and others questioned the amount and reported our suspicions. The response centred on the belief that we could claw the money back once the pandemic was over.
‘The DWP had a phrase they used, ‘Trust and protect’ – you were expected to accept everything at face value and trust the applicant.
‘When I refused to make a payment, a supervisor would make the payment on my behalf. Amounts ranged from £900 to £3,000.
‘Foreign nationals made lots of bogus claims. I had cases that were clearly fraudulent.’ An executive officer at the DWP’s Counter Fraud, Compliance and Debt team accused the department of ‘utter mismanagement’, adding: ‘We had a problem with false or bogus applications from non-UK residents trying to take advantage of the pandemic.
‘Lots of applications were received from Romanian nationals. I was told many may be linked to organised crime. It was a shambles. The department was in meltdown.’ Last night, Tory MP Sir Robert Neill said: ‘Fraud is not a victimless offence – everyone is hit by it, especially when it is public money.’
Crime expert Ali Hassan Ali, a former Met Police officer, said: ‘Fraud gangs targeting Britain’s benefits system are a growing industry in Romania. The DWP is using out-dated tools and practices to investigate fraudulent claims. This encourages gangs… they think Britain is an easy target.’
Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said: ‘While we may be beginning to turn the tide on fraud, there is still much to do.’
The DWP said: ‘Fraud teams are working hard to root out criminal activity, arresting fraudsters within serious and organised crime groups. This is backed by £900 million in our Fraud Plan, which will save the taxpayer £2.4 billion by 2025.’
