G4S apologizes to taxpayers for overcharging

The head of London-based security company G4S has apologized to taxpayers for overcharging on contracts for tagging criminals.

Appearing before the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee on Wednesday, G4S chief executive Ashley Almanza admitted the private firm failed to distinguish “between right and wrong” when dealing with its electronic monitoring contracts.

“I apologize to the secretary of state and I should apologize to this committee and the taxpayer on behalf of our company. We didn’t have the systems in place that we needed,” Almanza said.

British MPs grilled Almanza after a National Audit Office (NAO) report suggested G4S and a second security company, Serco, had charged millions of pounds to tag criminals who were dead or in jail.

The audit revealed that the overcharging began at least as far back as the start of the current electronic monitoring contracts in 2005 – but could have dated as far back as the start of the previous contracts in 1999.

The revelation led the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to open a criminal investigation over the way the security companies operated the contracts.

Meanwhile, the British government refused a £24.1 million offer from G4S to settle the overcharging scandal.

Serco chairman Alistair Lyons, who also appeared before the Public Accounts Committee, described his company’s incorrect billing as “ethically wrong”.