Written question asked by Lord Barker of Battle (Conservative) on Wednesday, 22 June 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 28 June 2005. It was answered by Baroness Primarolo (Labour) on Tuesday, 28 June 2005 on behalf of the Treasury.

Customs and Excise Staff (Criminal Investigations)

Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the criminal investigations which have been undertaken by Customs and Excise in respect of which legal proceedings are not ongoing into allegations of fraud and other malpractice by staff working for Customs and Excise in the last 10 years; and what the dates were of each.

Answer: Over the last five years HMCE have conducted 12 criminal investigations where serving officers have been identified as potential suspects. Of these cases three have been put before the courts and have been finalized. The dates and outcomes of these cases is as follows:"2001—Officer acquitted of fraudulent evasion of VAT charge.""2004—Officer sentenced to two years and six months for conspiracy to cheat the Revenue.""2005—Officer sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for conspiracy to import controlled drugs."Of the remaining cases:"Three have been concluded with no action being taken against the officers, as there was insufficient evidence.""One case was dealt with as a disciplinary matter.""Five cases are currently before the courts or awaiting trial."Between 1995 and 2000 criminal investigations involving members of staff would have been undertaken by the national investigation service (NIS) of HMCE, or regional criminal investigation units (CIU). These investigations would have been restricted to matters assigned to HMCE, such as VAT or Excise duty evasion and the importation of prohibited or restricted goods.

Secondary information