A Glasgow college has said it has “learned many lessons” from a £500,000 embezzlement case that saw a former member of staff sentenced to time in prison.
A statement from a City of Glasgow College spokesperson said the college had noted there had been a successful prosecution leading to a custodial sentence. “It is extremely disappointing for any organisation when an employee abuses their position of trust for criminal gain,” the statement added.
“As soon as our systems detected missing goods, we alerted Police Scotland and launched a forensic investigation. Subsequently, we have significantly strengthened our internal controls. We have learned many lessons from this fraud, which we will share with colleagues both within the education sector and the wider public sector.”
Background: Police investigate embezzlement at college
More: Police make arrest in college embezzlement probe
News: College sacks employee in embezzlement case
The college added it was grateful for the ongoing support from Police Scotland, Audit Scotland, OSCR, Scottish Funding Council, and Scottish government, with whom we have remained in close contact throughout.”
Tes reported exclusively in 2019 that police were investigating an allegation of embezzlement at City of Glasgow College, and the college, one of the largest in the UK, had suspended a member of staff while an internal investigation was underway. The member of staff was sacked shortly after and, in January 2020, an arrest was made.
It has now been reported former admin assistant Afsha Rana, 34, has been sentenced by the Sheriff Court in Glasgow for 27 months. According to the reports, prosecutor Alasdair Knox told Glasgow Sheriff Court: “Rana acted in a deliberate manner to defraud her employer by ordering IT equipment. She took possession of 334 computing devices which cannot be accounted for. The total value of equipment which is unaccounted for is £500,000.”
The fiscal reportedly added that 176 of the devices were sold at a Cash Converters branch in Glasgow with Rana receiving £255,200 in payment.
