Ian Woodall funnelled cash to Switzerland and back again

JUST a third of £1million stolen from the city council by one of its most senior officers 10 years ago has been reclaimed, it has emerged, amid concerns the pension pot corruption scandal could happen again.

Westminster has managed to recoup £370,000 of Ian Woodall’s assets through the HM Courts & Tribunals Service Confiscation Unit.

He was convicted in 2018 of abuse of position and found guilty of fraud and money-laundering after funnelling hundreds of thousands of pounds out of the Westminster City Council pension pot and into Swiss bank accounts in 2013. Woodall, from Mickleham in Surrey, was jailed for seven years at Southwark Crown Court in early 2019.

After Woodall’s trial, the council pledged to chase down all the lost cash through the courts.

But West End Labour councillor Paul Fisher said: “We have only just recovered relatively small sums for the people of Westminster. It is astonishing that a man was able to siphon off funds and send them to Swiss bank accounts.

“It’s a fraud of a kind you would expect in Sobchak’s St Petersburg – certainly not in our local authority.” At a meeting about the council’s latest fraud strategy, he added: “I want confirmation that the crown court judgment had been considered very carefully. I would love to know how the conclusions from the Woodall scandal have fed into this strategy.”

The Extra’s front page report of February 1 2019

The Anatoly Sobchak 1991-1996 administration, which included a young Vladimir Putin, was reportedly characterised by corruption and bribery scandals.

The court had heard that Woodall had been a senior council figure who siphoned off cash, deposited it in Swiss bank accounts, and then brought it back to this country where the money was distributed to both his personal and company bank accounts.

The money was then used to fund the purchase of his house and cars, and to support his lifestyle.

One transaction alone totalled £741,000.

The fraud was only discovered after a review of investment practices at Westminster City Hall was triggered after the banks’ crash in 2008.

The city council was found to have more than £17million invested in teet-ering Icelandic banks, but the review led to many unanswered questions.

A council report said anti-fraud policies are now part of the induction package for all new staff and that workers are now required to sign a conflicts of interest document.

The council also said its 2020-2023 anti-fraud and corruption strategy aligns with the national strategy published by the Local Government Association.

Woodall, who was aged 47 when he was convicted, had held the appointment of interim chief investment officer for the city council and had effectively been employed in other roles since 2003, the court heard. He was employed as a contractor through his own firm, therefore not an employee. But through contracts he had remained the council’s interim chief investment officer for several years.