Police investigate former employee

The Edinburgh Fringe say they have uncovered a ‘sophisticated’ £220,000 fraud involving one of their employees.

The Society which oversees the festival says the money, which was stolen over an eight-year period, has now been recovered.

Police Scotland are investigating, and the employee can not be named while their inquiries continue. The suspect no longer works for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society.

Chief executive Kath Mainland said: ‘We have been a victim of a sophisticated fraud campaign conducted by one individual in a position of responsibility over an extended period of time.

‘The amount of money involved in any given year was, on average, less than one per cent of the Fringe Society’s annual turnover and not operationally impactful. We do take matters such as this very seriously. Despite already recovering the funds I wanted to be open about the situation and offer the opportunity to members to discuss this at our Annual General Meeting in August.

‘This matter has had no impact on the Fringe itself, and we are looking forward to what will be a fantastic celebration of culture and entertainment from all around the world.

‘The disappointment at having identified the crime is certainly alleviated by our success in recovering the funds swiftly and being able to move on.

‘The measures required to reinforce our financial processes have already been taken, although I am satisfied that not much more could have been done to prevent us falling victim to such a deliberate and sophisticated crime.’

The society asked independent forensic accountants to review the case, and their recommendations have been implemented.

Published: 27 Jul 2015