Bridgend council loses £3,500 in shipping container fraud
While it was unclear exactly why the shipping container had been bought, some members pointed out a number of others had been set up in Porthcawl for start-up businesses to use.Council bosses heard about the purchase during discussions about an audit inquiries letter to Audit Wales.Part of the report given to councillors noted a case of "actual, suspected, or alleged fraud" in relation to the missing shipping container.The letter that was submitted to Audit Wales said: "The council ordered a shipping container which did not arrive and paid 50% up-front."This has been identified as a fraud and a request for the final 50% payment was rejected."Steven Easterbrook, Independent councillor for Bridgend Central, described the situation as embarrassing and said the authority needed to be "a lot more careful" in the future.
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