G4S fraud trial into electronic tagging contract collapses

THREE former G4S employees have been acquitted after a case brought by the Serious Fraud Office collapsed after a 10-year investigation.

The white-collar crime agency yesterday dropped its criminal prosecution against the three men, who had been accused of defrauding the Government over an electronic tagging contract.

Richard Morris, one of the accused, said outside the Old Bailey that it was a “scandal” that it had taken 10 years for the SFO to drop the case. The three exemployees had been charged with seven counts of fraud by false representation between 2009 and 2012.

They had been employed by G4S Care and Justice Services, which was accused of misleading the Ministry of Justice over profit on a tagging contract.

In July 2020, the firm accepted responsibility for three counts of fraud and agreed to pay £38.5m and the SFO’S costs. However, the case remained against Mr Morris, 47, Mark Preston, 51, ex-commercial director, and James Jardine, 41, former finance manager, all of whom denied all the charges.