Police raid office and home of Unite employee in criminal investigation

The home and central London office of a Unite the Union employee were raided by police on Wednesday, according to LabourList sources, in a criminal investigation into allegations of bribery, fraud and money laundering.

A Unite spokesperson said: “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.”

According to Sky News, two police vans and a number of other unmarked police vehicles were involved in a raid at the London office of Labour-affiliated trade union Unite on Wednesday.

Five to 20 officers are believed to have attended the office of the employee and left the building with boxes of files, papers and a computer, Sky News reported.

Sharon Graham was elected as general secretary of the trade union in August last year, taking over from Len McCluskey. There has been no suggestion that either Graham or McCluskey are being investigated by the police.

South Wales Police is understood to be leading on the investigation. They said addresses in areas covered by the South Wales, Metropolitan, Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales, Dyfed Powys and Northamptonshire police forces were searched.

A spokesperson for South Wales Police said in a statement today that “the joint investigation with HMRC is continuing and a number of suspects will be interviewed in due course” but that no further information will be released at this time.

Unite the Union is one of the largest trade union in the UK. It represents more than 1.2 million members across several sectors including construction, logistics, manufacturing and transport and is the Labour Party’s largest affiliate.