Police Raid Trade Union Headquarters as Part of Bribery and Fraud Investigation

Police have raided the headquarters of Unite, one of the UK’s largest and most powerful trade unions, as part of a bribery, fraud and money laundering investigation.

Sky News understands 15 to 20 officers attended the search yesterday at the union’s central London headquarters and left the building with boxes of files, paper and a computer.

A Unite spokesman confirmed to Sky News: “A Unite employee is subject to a criminal investigation by the police.

“On Wednesday 6th April, the employee’s office at Unite HQ, in Holborn, London, was accessed and searched by the police under warrant.”

The raid was carried out by South Wales Police as part of a bribery, fraud and money laundering investigation.

Two police vans and a number of unmarked police cars were involved.

South Wales Police said addresses were also searched in the areas covered by the South Wales, Metropolitan, Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales, Dyfed Powys and Northamptonshire police forces.

“The joint investigation with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs is continuing and a number of suspects will be interviewed in due course,” South Wales Police said.

Unite is the second largest trade union in the UK, with more than 1.2 million members across several sectors, including construction, logistics, manufacturing and transport.

In 2021, a new general secretary, Sharon Graham, was elected after the retirement of Len McCluskey, who led the union for 11 years.

Article credit: https://news.sky.com/story/police-raid-uks-largest-trade-union-unites-headquarters-12584484