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Four Arrested in UK Raids Over Alleged £44m Insulation Scheme Fraud
UK authorities arrested four people in dawn raids linked to a suspected conspiracy to defraud £44m from a government home insulation program. The Serious Fraud Office is investigating three companies for claiming funds for unperformed work on 5,000 properties. Officials seized computers, hard drives and crypto assets during searches across three counties.
Apr 23, 6:58 AM·2m read1 source
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Four people were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud during dawn raids on Wednesday morning, BBC News reported. Around 100 investigators entered homes and offices across three counties in the early hours, removing computers, hard drives and crypto assets.
The Serious Fraud Office is probing a sophisticated conspiracy to fraudulently claim £44m in public money through the government's home insulation scheme.
The BBC joined a Serious Fraud Office team as they raided a company office at a business park in Cannock. Lead investigator Ross Corrigan stated the office suspected a sophisticated and systemic fraud within the government's Energy Company Obligation 4 (ECO4) scheme designed to help people in fuel poverty.
' The ECO4 programme began in 2022 and involved the installation of heat pumps, solar panels and insulation in more than 300,000 homes.
It targeted elderly or vulnerable people living on low incomes. The scheme was funded through a levy on household energy bills and has cost £4bn. Three companies were involved in the fraud: JJ Crump of Sheffield, South Coast Insulation Services in Fareham, and Warmfront based in Cannock.
The three businesses claimed money for insulation work on 5,000 properties they never installed. South Coast Insulation Services went into administration in February. JJ Crump stated it completely refutes the allegations made by the Serious Fraud Office.
The company added that no-one from it had been arrested and it is fully co-operating with the investigation. JJ Crump also stated all the work it installed has been carried out in good faith. uk. In one case in Luton, dry rot was so extensive that the house has been gutted and is costing more than £250,000 to fix.
