Greater than £1m of unexplained transactions have been transferred in to Put up Workplace revenue on the peak of the Horizon scandal, leaked paperwork have confirmed.
The papers seen by Sky Information present a snapshot of transfers from a Put up Workplace “miscellaneous shopper” suspense account over a 4 12 months interval, as much as 2014.
A suspense account is the place unexplained, or disputed, transactions stay till they can be “reconciled”.
Unaccounted-for transactions have been transferred out of the Put up Workplace suspense account and into their Revenue and Loss account after three years.
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Ian Henderson, director of Second Sight – the forensic accountants employed years in the past by Put up Workplace – mentioned: “The Put up Workplace was not printing cash. It was accumulating funds in its suspense account.
“These funds belong to any person, both to 3rd social gathering purchasers or to sub-postmasters, and a part of the work we have been doing in 2015 was drilling into that.”
Mr Henderson mentioned they have been sacked not lengthy after asking questions on whether or not Put up Workplace profited from shortfalls paid for by sub-postmasters.
Mr Henderson informed Sky Information that the cash may doubtlessly have come from sub-postmasters’ pockets
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A letter from Alisdair Cameron, the Put up Workplace’s chief monetary officer, to Second Sight in February 2015 states some “postings can’t be traced” to “underlying transactions”.
He added: “We aren’t at all times capable of drill again from the mixed totals to itemise all of the underlying transactions.”
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Mr Henderson mentioned the letter reveals that “the Put up Workplace was benefiting from this uncertainty because of, frankly, unhealthy report holding, however taking it to the good thing about their Revenue and Loss account.”
He maintains that it is not possible to show for positive that sub-postmasters’ cash went into Put up Workplace revenue due to a “lack of granularity”.
He says subsequently that it’s of “adequate public curiosity” {that a} additional impartial overview into using suspense accounts ought to occur.
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Mr Henderson added: “It did not come from skinny air, the place did the cash come from? That is a elementary query Put up Workplace haven’t answered.”
In the meantime, individually, a secret recording obtained by Sky Information signifies that Put up Workplace was attempting to gag the impartial forensic accountants.
The recording is of a gathering in January 2014 between Second Sight, a lawyer and a Put up Workplace consultant.
It passed off over a 12 months earlier than the accountants have been sacked.
Within the convention name there are indicators the connection between Put up Workplace and Second Sight was starting to weaken.
There may be dialogue a couple of contractual confidentiality settlement, a “Letter of Engagement” between the events.
Within the recording Ian Henderson says: “Both, you recognize, we have now unfettered discretion and authorisation to simply discuss to MPs or we’ve not.
“In the mean time, the best way the doc is drafted, we’re prevented from doing that. That is the problem.”
His colleague at Second Sight, Ron Warmington is heard agreeing.
In one other a part of the recording there are extra considerations raised that the investigators are being blocked from speaking to MPs.
Mr Henderson says: “My level is we shouldn’t be gagging both the applicant or Second Sight in having the ability to reply, you recognize, absolutely and albeit to MPs who frankly kind of set this entire course of in movement.”
The Put up Workplace consultant replies saying they are not attempting to gag anyone.
Mr Henderson describes “some extent of precept”: “In precisely the identical method that after we have been doing spot critiques, we disclosed to MPs, once they requested us a selected query, the knowledge supplied to us by Fujitsu and by Put up Workplace.
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“And that is why it is so vital to determine this precept that there ought to be no gagging of Second Sight in relation to having the ability to talk about our investigative work with MPs.”
In the identical assembly his colleague Ron Warmington mentioned that if it later emerges that Second Sight have been “successfully gagged” in its coping with MPs, “it is not going to be Second Sight they’re significantly aggravated with, it should be Put up Workplace.”
The consultant responds instantly with: “I feel that is one thing that the Put up Workplace must cope with if – if it arises.”
Including that “a few of the terminology when it comes to gagging might be an exaggeration of what it’s that’s attempting to be performed right here, and in the mean time you have not signed something.”
Put up Workplace launched an announcement in response to the findings: “The statutory public inquiry, chaired by a choose with the facility to query witnesses beneath oath, is one of the best discussion board to look at the problems raised by this proof.
“We proceed to stay absolutely targeted on supporting the inquiry get to the reality of what occurred and accountability for that.”
