HL Deb 26 February 1991 vol 526 cc45-6WA
Lord Monson

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they can confirm reports of a recent spate of thefts of cheques posted to the Collectors of Taxes in Cumbernauld, Shipley and elsewhere; if so, what are the approximate total sums involved and how many arrests have been made.

Lord Hesketh

Over 400 cases have been identified in the pat nine months where cheques from taxpayers posted to the Inland Revenue Accounts Office have been stolen. The face value of these cheques was approximately £6.5 million but most of the altered cheques have been discovered during bank processing and the established losses are much smaller than that figure. A number of police arrests have been made both in this country and abroad, but at this stage they cannot be linked solely to frauds against the Inland Revenue.