HMRC receives 14,000 furlough fraud reports from whistleblowers

The HMRC has received 13,775 whistleblower reports regarding fraud against the furlough scheme, with more people reporting their employers and ex-employers to the authority. According to law firm Pinsent Masons, HMRC is now stepping up its enforcement activity with a “view to recovery”, issuing penalties and pursuing prosecution or directors disqualifications where appropriate. This could reportedly include instances when it considers businesses were claiming furlough but telling, or allowing, employees to keep working, as well as instances where a past fraud has been uncovered but the business has not come forward to rectify the position. Pinsent Masons noted the “sheer number” of furlough claims at the height of the pandemic made it “very difficult” for HMRC to spot fraudulent claims. However, Andrew Sackey, partner at Pinsent Masons, says HMRC has since added a “significant” amount of resources to its investigation teams to pursue fraudulent or inaccurate furlough claims. For example, in order to encourage whistleblower reports from employees, HMRC has deliberately made information about whether an employer has made a furlough claim available online. Employees are said to be increasingly using this to make fraud reports through HMRC’s digital reporting service. Directors or business owners found guilty of furlough fraud can face significant penalties, including being made personally liable to repay the overclaimed furlough funds and custodial sentences. Sackey said that any business which suspects it may have claimed furlough incorrectly should undertake a fact-finding investigation to establish what may have transpired. Should a breach be found, business owners should seek advice on how best to repay the funds. He said: “Whistleblowers have played a major role in helping HMRC catch those who defrauded the furlough scheme or were otherwise not entitled to the benefits claims. Significant numbers of employees who found themselves unwittingly playing a part in a breach of the rules or even fraud will have reported them in response. “Employers that incorrectly claimed furlough payments would be best advised to seek advice on how best to come forward and mitigate the issue. HMRC is increasingly looking to take strong and public action in respect of those it considers may have taken public money they were not entitled to.” He added: “This is the kind of fraud that HMRC will, in the most egregious cases, feel should result in criminal prosecution. There is significant public interest in the justice system dealing with those who broke the rules to took advantage of the furlough system at a time of national crisis.”

HMRC receives 14,000 furlough fraud reports from whistleblowers

In order to encourage whistleblower reports from employees, HMRC has deliberately made information about whether an employer has made a furlough claim available online

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