Police inquiry at business trust

POLICE are investigating after reports of financial irregularities at a trust run by Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce.

It is understood police were called after the chamber became aware of false accounting linked to a small number of former employees of Edinburgh Business Development (EBD), which helps to support small businesses and get people back into work.

Police said inquiries were ongoing to establish if there had been any criminality involved.

In a statement, the boards of the chamber of commerce group of companies said they had received reports of financial difficulties related to the valuations of work in progress at EBD towards the end of the past financial year.

The chamber brought in PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to carry out an independent investigation before the matter was passed to the police.

The statement said: “PwC, together with our boards, and in the light of helpful information provided by former employees, identified previously unknown unacceptable work practices on the part of a small number of former employees.

“The boards, acting with the chief executive, Ron Hewitt, took the step of reporting these unacceptable practices to Lothian and Borders Police, who are currently carrying out an investigation.

“The boards, and the other senior management and other staff at the chamber group, are giving full support to this police investigation.”

The development came as a company set up by the Scottish Chambers of Commerce to help firms boost their exports went into liquidation.

Scottish Chambers International (SCI), which was the brainchild of EBD managing director Alastair Kerr, had been a key player in the Scottish Government’s “Smart Exporter” scheme.

An independent board of SCI was set up in March, with Mr Kerr becoming its managing director, after EBD decided it could not take responsibility for the risks and costs involved.