Serious Fraud Office launches inquiry into G4S and Serco overcharging claims
Investigation follows justice secretary’s claims that firms overcharged on electronic tagging contracts for offenders
Under the contracts more than 20,000 offenders are monitored on electronic tags at any one time. Photograph: Gary Calton
The Serious Fraud Office has launched a formal criminal investigation into two of the government’s biggest suppliers, G4S and Serco, following claims by the justice secretary, Chris Grayling, of tens of millions of pounds of overcharging on electronic tagging contracts for offenders.
Grayling asked the SFO to look into the billing allegations in July when he told MPs that an external audit had revealed that the overcharging included billing for tracking the movements of criminals who had moved abroad, who were back in prison, who had had their tags removed and even, in a few cases, those who had died.