UK Inquiry Tracker

The MoD’s tackling of economic crime and misconduct

Public Accounts Committee Open Inquiry

Opened: 12 Dec 2025 Parliament page

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) responds to economic threats and investigates fraud and corruption perpetrated against it through several police forces, including its Fraud Defence team, MoD Police, and the Service police forces, as well as through its own central team. MoD’s last public estimate of its exposure to fraud … Read more The Ministry of Defence (MoD) responds to economic threats and investigates fraud and corruption perpetrated against it through several police forces, including its Fraud Defence team, MoD Police, and the Service police forces, as well as through its own central team. MoD’s last public estimate of its exposure to fraud risk was £1.3bn in 2021-22. The National Audit Office (NAO) has estimated that government lost between £55bn and £81bn to fraud and error in 2023-24. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) reported in 2023 that large gaps remained in government’s understanding of its exposure to fraud and corruption. Its report into combating the issue called for action to tackle currently untracked fraud and error losses running to potentially tens of billions a year. The same year its report into tackling fraud found that the UK risked being seen as a haven for fraudsters where fraud is everyone’s problem but no one’s priority. The NAO in 2026 publishes the findings of its investigation into how the MoD is organised to manage fraud and economic crime. Proceeding from the NAO’s report, the PAC will take evidence from senior MoD officials on likely topics including the outcomes it achieves on the cases it investigates, and what plans exist to improve its capabilities. The Committee will also be exploring issues related to the 2024-25 Annual Report and Accounts for the MoD based on the report from the NAO https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/ministry-of-defence-accounts-2024-25/ If you have evidence on these issues, please submit here by 23:59 on Monday 9 February 2026 . Please look at the requirements for written evidence submissions and note that the Committee cannot accept material as evidence that is published elsewhere. The Committee decides what information to publish and how. You can request anonymity or confidentiality when you send evidence, but it is for the Committee to say whether it will agree.It may treat submissions confidentially, even where you have not requested this. Please note that the Committee’s inquiry cannot assist with individual cases. If you need help with an individual problem you are having, you may wish to read the information on Parliament’s website about who you can contact with different issues. Show less

3 Recommendations

27 Conclusions

1 Report

1 Oral session

1 Letter

1 Event

Activity timeline 4 events

29 May
2026

Report published

Third Report - The MoD’s tackling of economic crime and misconduct

20 Apr
2026

Correspondence

Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence to the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee relating to The MoD’s tackling…

5 Mar
2026

Oral evidence

Oral evidence session

5 Mar
2026

Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House

Committee event

Oral evidence sessions 1 session

5 Mar 2026

View on parliament.uk

Aneen Blackmore · Ministry of Defence Jeremy Pocklington CB · Ministry of Defence Jim Carter · Ministry of Defence Simon Dobinson · Ministry of Defence Police

Reports 1 report · click to expand

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
Third Report - The MoD’s tackling of economic crime and miscondu…	HC 91	29 May 2026	30	Pending

Recommendations & Conclusions

30 results

2 Conclusion

Third Report - The MoD’s tackling …

The Department has not responded to the huge potential fraud risk it faces with the...

The Department has not responded to the huge potential fraud risk it faces with the degree of focus and leadership we would expect. Previous reviews of Defence policing have repeatedly identified siloed working, weak ownership and a lack of trust … Read more

HM Treasury

The MoD’s tackling of economic crime and misconduct

Activity timeline 4 events

Oral evidence sessions 1 session

Reports 1 report · click to expand

Recommendations & Conclusions

The Department has not responded to the huge potential fraud risk it faces with the...

The Department does not have a reliable estimate of its fraud losses or the information...

The Department faces a particularly high risk of fraud in its procurement, but there is...

The fragmented structure of the Department’s counter-fraud and police teams limits its ability to respond...

The Department has yet to capitalise on the use of new technologies and data analytics...

The issues faced by the Department around counter-fraud are not unique, and many of the...

On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence...

The Department told us it was confident that these plans would lead to improved counter-fraud...

Previous reviews of Defence policing have highlighted issues relevant to how the Department manages fraud...

The Department acknowledged that fraud is a serious risk, and that as a large, complex...

The Department recognised that there has been a “tricky relationship” in the past between its...

The NAO report notes that some areas within the Department do not consider fraud to...

The Department told us that it plans to strengthen its leadership and oversight of the...

The Department estimates that it is exposed to up to £1.5 billion a year of...

The Department explained that it considers its existing £1.5 billion estimate of potential annual fraud...

Despite being asked repeatedly during the session the Department could not give us a firm...

The Department explained that it is working closely with the Public Sector Fraud Authority to...

The Department also explained that it plans to improve and make more active use of...

Most of the Department’s estimated £1.5 billion exposure to fraud loss is in its procurement...

The Department told us it believes it has good controls throughout the contract life cycle...

The Department told us it recognised the issues raised in the NAO’s report around the...

We asked the Department how it manages the risk of fraud when its commercial staff...

The Department’s capability is split across multiple teams that function mostly independently, with siloed working,...

The NAO highlighted that the Department’s teams lack awareness of each other’s criteria and thresholds...

The Department told us it is “improving and consolidating [its] approach to the Confidential Hotline...

We asked the Department about the feedback given to whistleblowers from the Confidential Hotline.

We challenged the Department on how it intends to improve coordination across defence and deliver...

We recently reported that emerging technologies such as data analytics are a vital tool to...

The Department told us that technology and analytics would enable it to review data in...

The Department told us it plans to move towards a more proactive use of technology...

Correspondence 1 letter