A former member of staff on a council contract with outsourcing firm Capita has been charged in a £2 million fraud case.

The former Barnet Council employee, on a Re contract with the outsourcer, appeared at Willesden Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, July 3, to face two separate charges of fraud by abuse of position.

The council confirmed the total value of money obtained fraudulently was just over £2 million.

The case has been referred to Harrow Crown Court, where the next hearing will take place on Tuesday, July 31.

The Regional Enterprise (Re) deal with Capita was signed in 2013 and covers a range of services, including environmental health, regeneration and highways.

A Barnet Council spokesperson said: “The council has recovered the money from Re as a result of this alleged fraud, and we took immediate action to increase financial controls and monitoring of the outsourced finance service.

“We have also commissioned an independent review of financial controls, the results of which will be presented to the Council’s Audit Committee on Tuesday, 17 July.”