Two men and a woman were arrested this morning by Greater Manchester Police officers investigating alleged financial irregularities at the University of Greater Manchester.
All three individuals, whom the police did not name, have been arrested on suspicion of money laundering. The two men were also arrested on suspicion of fraud, one of whom was also arrested on suspicion of bribery. The men are in their 60s and the woman, who shares a familial link with one of the men, is in her 50s.
Police say they opened their investigation a year ago “after we received allegations from The Mill publication and a subsequent report from Price Waterhouse Cooper (PWC) commissioned by the university’s Fraud Response Panel”.
Police said the alleged offences took place between 2014 and 2025 and involve some 60 transactions in which university funds were used for private purposes, including the purchase of a heated dog kennel. The Mill understands that police believe as much as £1.7 million of funds may have been misused.
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“This is a key development in this significant and complex investigation which is seeing our detectives conduct painstaking work,” said assistant chief constable Rick Jackson. “We don’t lose sight of the fact that at the heart of this are students whose university experience has been impacted by money that should’ve been invested in their education instead allegedly being used for personal gain.”
The individuals were taken into custody before 9am and brought to Bolton police station for questioning. Two warrants were executed at addresses in Bolton and one each in Lancashire, Humberside and West Yorkshire.
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