Thurrock is one of a number of councils that have got into financial difficulties since the coalition government gave local authorities more freedom to raise funds and invest in 2011.

Woking, Slough and Croydon have all been forced to stop all non-essential spending after losing public money on risky investments.

Gavin Cunningham, a former investigator with the Serious Fraud Office, told Panorama that supplying inaccurate energy prices was potentially fraudulent.

Last month, a report by Essex County Council criticised Thurrock for its risky investment decisions and failure to make proper checks.

The report also highlighted the role played by the council's then chief financial officer, Sean Clark, in its disastrous investment strategy.

I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[–] s38b35M5@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think you missed all the important bits related to the headline:

A businessman cheated a council out of tens of millions of pounds and went on a spending spree with the cash, an investigation has discovered.

Leaked documents reveal how Liam Kavanagh used Thurrock Council's money to buy luxury goods, including a yacht and a private jet.

The council has been made effectively bankrupt after investing £655m in Mr Kavanagh's solar farm business.

Mr Kavanagh's lawyers say all the payments were permissible.

They say they were approved by his company's finance team and auditor.

Thurrock is one of a number of councils that have got into financial difficulties since the coalition government gave local authorities more freedom to raise funds and invest in 2011.

Woking, Slough and Croydon have all been forced to stop all non-essential spending after losing public money on risky investments.

Private jet IMAGE SOURCE,MARIN GHE/JETPHOTOS Image caption, Mr Kavanagh bought a private jet (pictured)

The Audit Commission - a spending watchdog that stopped councils taking too many risks - was abolished in 2015.

Conservative-led Thurrock Council started investing cash with Mr Kavanagh's business Rockfire the following year.

The idea was that the council would get regular interest payments from the profits and its cash would be safe because it was secured against the value of the solar farms.

But the interest payments stopped after Mr Kavanagh wound up his companies and the estimated value of the solar farms is less than the council thought.

Administrators are now selling the solar farms and Thurrock is facing a £200m shortfall on its investment.

The council has been forced to cut services and put up council tax.

[–] InvertedParallax@lemm.ee 21 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

I don't understand, this is trivial fraud why isn't he in jail right now and all his assets in receivership?

Oh... oh right... Tories.

Good work, enterprising businessman!

[–] Cobrachicken@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

"Mr Kavanagh is no longer living in the UK."

[–] InvertedParallax@lemm.ee 13 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

... that's a massive fraud, they extradite for that.

Are you honestly saying I can steal the better part of a billion dollars and hop across the border to Mexico without worry? Because if so I have some life choices to rethink.

The Audit Commission - a spending watchdog that stopped councils taking too many risks - was abolished in 2015.

Again, tories.

[–] Buelldozer@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Are you honestly saying I can steal the better part of a billion dollars and hop across the border to Mexico without worry?

In other longer articles you find out that it's nowhere nearly a billion. The Solar Farms used to underpin the investments do exist and are productive. They have value in the hundreds of millions of pounds, but its apparently not quite enough to satisfy all of the bonds when they come do in 2025 and 2026.

[–] Zippy@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

What makes you think there was fraud? Lots of these solar farms are not viable and losing money. Counsil for swindled into thinking it was a sure thing and invested in it. Sounds to me more likely the people in Council were not very business savvy but instead invested based on feel good.

[–] InvertedParallax@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago

Dude is the one who represented them at the higher value for the bonds. That's the definition of fraud.

[–] lasagna@programming.dev 3 points 1 year ago

I'm just glad this case wasn't handed to the Ministry of Silly Frauds.

[–] Buelldozer@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

This article points the finger almost exclusively at Liam Kavanagh and almost ignores Sean Clark, Thurrock’s Finance Director.

A bit of digging turned up this much longer article published a year ago and while Liam Kavanagh and his companies feature in it there's also quite a bit more about Sean Clark's role in all this.

https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2022-07-15/his-companies-made-a-deal-for-138m-of-taxpayers-money.-where-has-it-gone

[–] Chestrade@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

This is icetown all over again.

[–] deegeese@sopuli.xyz 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Predictable outcome of letting local councils invest taxpayer money in whatever corrupt scheme greases their palms.

[–] AngrilyEatingMuffins@kbin.social -2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

What’s the alternative? The tories decide literally everything from Whitehall?

[–] thetreesaysbark@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The Audit Commission - a spending watchdog that stopped councils taking too many risks - was abolished in 2015.

Probably not abolishing the thing that was literally there to stop this from happening.

In fairness maybe this thing didn't work, but surely some oversight would reduce ridiculous things like this from happening.

[–] AngrilyEatingMuffins@kbin.social -3 points 1 year ago

This is so circular I don’t even know where to begin.

[–] Ukuli@sopuli.xyz 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Classic floridaman.

[–] DarkGamer@kbin.social 6 points 1 year ago

Essex Man, at least that's where Thurrock council is, not sure where Liam Kavanagh is living now.

[–] dulce_3t_decorum_3st@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Classic Kavanaugh

[–] Ukuli@sopuli.xyz 2 points 1 year ago

Classic floridaman.