00:00That's not good enough when you're looking at potential criminal activity being investigated.
00:06That's the leader of Medway Council, on the handling of an investigation seven years in the making,
00:12then dropped by Kent Police this past July.
00:15In March 2019, Kent Police opened an investigation into potential fraud
00:20after whistleblowers alerted to the Medway Commercial Group potentially using council funds that facilitate personal projects.
00:28After frequent staff changes and issues around gaps in evidence,
00:33Kent Police formally closed the investigation three months ago.
00:37But Medway Council want to lodge a formal complaint with the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
00:42Certainly in my view, the police have not handled this in the way that I would expect them to.
00:47It's had a number of changes of staff throughout this.
00:50And in the most recent correspondence, you know, a number of years on, seven years on,
00:55they're basically asking questions that you'd expect to be asking on day number one.
01:00For me, this feels very badly handled.
01:03And ultimately, it's taxpayers of Medway that have lost out as a result of this.
01:07Medway Commercial Group could deliver services on behalf of the council and make it a profit,
01:12which the council itself couldn't do.
01:15Though three senior staff and board members were later alleged to have used this for personal gain.
01:21That is, CEO Ian Price, Vikram Shadev and Chairman Andrew McNess,
01:26the latter a member of the cabinet at the time, then Conservative-led.
01:31Now, an audit report that I've got open here reveals that some transactions on the company card
01:37include flights to Abu Dhabi, expensive hotels and Michelin-star restaurants.
01:43But Medway Council fear there might have been a significant loss.
01:47It's certainly a six-figure sum. I'm very comfortable saying that.
01:52And from my perspective, that is, frankly, one penny is too much.
01:56But that sort of figure is substantially excessive and should never have happened.
02:01Kemp Police explain that the investigation was complex,
02:04but ultimately didn't meet the evidential threshold for a criminal prosecution,
02:09and will process a complaint accordingly, should one be submitted.
02:13The Office of Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott
02:17explained it would be inappropriate to comment.
02:20And Andrew McNess declined an interview,
02:22but told Kent Online that these allegations are groundless,
02:25and dismissed the need for an investigation,
02:28seeing as Kent Police concluded that there was insufficient evidence.
02:32For now, a criminal investigation is not underway as no one has been charged,
02:38and next week, Medway Council will debate whether or not a complaint should be logged to the IOPC.
02:44Megan Shaw, in Medway.
02:46Medway Council
