"Unite HQ" raided as police investigate bribery, fraud and money laundering
11/04/2022
Unite the Union's headquarters in London were raided by police this week in relation to a financial crime investigation involving the construction of a hotel and conference centre in Birmingham.
Sky News reported that between 15 and 20 officers were involved in the search of the office building in Holborn, and left with boxes of documents and a computer.
The raid was a joint operation by South Wales Police and the UK's tax authority, HMRC.
A spokesperson for the force said it had carried out the search to investigate allegations of bribery, fraud and money laundering.
In 2016, Unite appointed Flanagan Group to build a 170-bed hotel in Birmingham called the Unite Hotel and Conference Centre. Construction costs for the project proceeded to rise by £41m, resulting in a £98m build, which was completed in December 2020.
The union's then-general secretary Len McCluskey told a meeting of the Unite executive council in January 2021 that
- Costs had risen because of its abidance to union protocol, which meant employing workers who had union membership, avoiding the involvement of firms that had a history of blacklisting, directly employing workers and paying them at least national pay rates.
The union's executive committee concluded that
- The directly employed labour, high construction costs in Birmingham and a change in project scope pushed up the price.
In April 2021, Labour MP Neil Coyle, also a member of the union, questioned the mismanagement of funds for the hotel project and called for an inquiry.
In December, newly appointed general secretary Sharon Graham launched the investigation.
Unite the Union is one of the largest trade unions in the UK with 1.2 million members, including workers from the construction industry.
The Birmingham project under scrutiny included a Marriott-branded hotel, conference space, education centre and offices for the union.
A Unite spokesperson said:
- "A Unite employee is subject to a criminal investigation by the police. On Wednesday 6 April, the employee's office at Unite HQ in Holborn, London, was accessed and searched by the police under warrant."
South Wales Police said that in addition to London, warrants were handed out in South Wales and the police-force areas of Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales, Dyfed-Powys and Northamptonshire.
The Team
Meet the team of industry experts behind Comsure
Find out moreLatest News
Keep up to date with the very latest news from Comsure
Find out moreGallery
View our latest imagery from our news and work
Find out moreContact
Think we can help you and your business? Chat to us today
Get In TouchNews Disclaimer
As well as owning and publishing Comsure's copyrighted works, Comsure wishes to use the copyright-protected works of others. To do so, Comsure is applying for exemptions in the UK copyright law. There are certain very specific situations where Comsure is permitted to do so without seeking permission from the owner. These exemptions are in the copyright sections of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended)[www.gov.UK/government/publications/copyright-acts-and-related-laws]. Many situations allow for Comsure to apply for exemptions. These include 1] Non-commercial research and private study, 2] Criticism, review and reporting of current events, 3] the copying of works in any medium as long as the use is to illustrate a point. 4] no posting is for commercial purposes [payment]. (for a full list of exemptions, please read here www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright]. Concerning the exceptions, Comsure will acknowledge the work of the source author by providing a link to the source material. Comsure claims no ownership of non-Comsure content. The non-Comsure articles posted on the Comsure website are deemed important, relevant, and newsworthy to a Comsure audience (e.g. regulated financial services and professional firms [DNFSBs]). Comsure does not wish to take any credit for the publication, and the publication can be read in full in its original form if you click the articles link that always accompanies the news item. Also, Comsure does not seek any payment for highlighting these important articles. If you want any article removed, Comsure will automatically do so on a reasonable request if you email info@comsuregroup.com.
As well as owning and publishing Comsure's copyrighted works, Comsure wishes to use the copyright-protected works of others. To do so, Comsure is applying for exemptions in the UK copyright law. There are certain very specific situations where Comsure is permitted to do so without seeking permission from the owner. These exemptions are in the copyright sections of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended)[www.gov.UK/government/publications/copyright-acts-and-related-laws]. Many situations allow for Comsure to apply for exemptions. These include 1] Non-commercial research and private study, 2] Criticism, review and reporting of current events, 3] the copying of works in any medium as long as the use is to illustrate a point. 4] no posting is for commercial purposes [payment]. (for a full list of exemptions, please read here www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright]. Concerning the exceptions, Comsure will acknowledge the work of the source author by providing a link to the source material. Comsure claims no ownership of non-Comsure content. The non-Comsure articles posted on the Comsure website are deemed important, relevant, and newsworthy to a Comsure audience (e.g. regulated financial services and professional firms [DNFSBs]). Comsure does not wish to take any credit for the publication, and the publication can be read in full in its original form if you click the articles link that always accompanies the news item. Also, Comsure does not seek any payment for highlighting these important articles. If you want any article removed, Comsure will automatically do so on a reasonable request if you email info@comsuregroup.com.