PSNI now considering if criminal investigation needed into SF coronavirus grant fiasco

Pressure has stepped up once again on Sinn Fein this morning over the debacle surrounding £30,000-worth of Covid business grants.
By Adam Kula
Published 30th Oct 2020, 10:25 BST
Updated 30th Oct 2020, 10:32 BST
The PSNIThe PSNI
The PSNI

The PSNI had yesterday told the News Letter is was not looking into the affair, but this has now changed.

A statement issued moments ago from the PSNI said: “We can confirm a communication was made to the Chief Constable in relation to Covid-19 grant money.

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“We are considering the matter as to whether a criminal investigation is required.”

The affair began when a trio of accounts linked to Sinn Fein each received £10,000 apiece from a fund which was designed to help struggling small firms.

Sinn Fein, as a political party, was ineligible to receive it.

The automatic payments began being issued in late March / early April.

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The party said the money had all been returned – but this only happened on Tuesday this week, just as the Nolan Show was getting ready to expose the mis-payments.

Elisha McCallion, a former SF MP, MLA and mayor of Londonderry, quit her seat in the Irish senate this week after it was revealed one of the £10k grants was paid to an account of which she was a signatory.

More to follow.

CLICK HERE: SF Covid fund debacle: Claim of a behind-the-scenes ‘war’ over release of informationCLICK HERE: Night Jeremy Corbyn stood in honour of dead IRA terroristsCLICK HERE: Widow of Stephen Carroll speaks out after Channel 4 News gives platform to his killerCLICK HERE: NI motorists warned about travelling south of border due to hundreds of checkpointsA message from the Editor:

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Related topics:Sinn FeinPSNI