Mayor’s advisor quits over fraud arrest
The London Mayor’s regeneration advisor has announced his resignation, following his arrest in connection with an alleged £3 million fraud.
Kumar Murshid, a board member of the London Development Agency, has stepped down after he was questioned by police investigating the suspected fraud at a Docklands training agency. He has been bailed to return for further questioning.
Mr Murshid was a key advisor in the LDA, the group set up to oversee the regeneration of the capital. He has also been suspended from the Labour party in Tower Hamlets, east London, along with two other councillors.
The National Standards Board for England, the council’s watchdog, launched an investigation into Mr Murshid after he allegedly failed to declare his connections to a businessman at the centre of the police inquiry. London Mayor Ken Livingstone has refused to rule out the possibility of reinstating Mr Mushid once the inquiry is completed.
“If there are charges there will be no possibility of reappointment. We are in the hands of how long the police investigation takes. Kumar stood aside and that is right whilst the police investigation is going on. He is co-operating with the police and I am confident he will be cleared,” Mr Livingstone said.
Mr Murshid told the Guardian: “I have stepped aside from my roles at the LDA and the GLA until this matter is cleared up, which I hope it will be very soon. I do not wish to in any way jeopardise Ken’s election prospects and felt that I should therefore step aside for a temporary period until I am fully exonerated.”
The National Standards Board for England is conducting an inquiry into a number of organisations funded through Tower Hamlets council, including the Millennium Advanced Technology Training (Matt). Mr Murshid was chairman of a youth organisation which traded with Matt.
The auditors’ report claims that Matt “was used as a vehicle for deception and the diversion of public funds to sources unknown, but not for the benefit of the local community”.
Last year Tower Hamlet’s independent standards panel found that Mr Murshid had breached the statutory code on two counts in relation to declaring interests at council meeting.
