Police Digital Service (PDS) confirmed on 3 July 2024 that two employees had been arrested on suspicion of fraud, bribery and misconduct in public office. City of London Police led the criminal investigation. The latest case-specific status located was reported on 27 August 2025, when the force said the investigation was still ongoing; that does not establish its status or outcome as of 4 October 2026.
What happened?
In a statement on 3 July 2024, PDS said two employees had been arrested on suspicion of fraud, bribery and misconduct in public office. The organisation said the employees had been suspended while the police investigation proceeded. It also said an independent HR consultancy would conduct an employee misconduct review and that PDS would undertake a wider organisational review. PDS’s statement described the arrests as an investigation, not a finding of wrongdoing.
City of London Police led the criminal investigation. In contemporaneous reporting on 3 July 2024, Computer Weekly called it Operation Albaston and reported that the two suspects had been interviewed and bailed. Arrest, interview and bail are procedural steps; none amounts to a charge or conviction.
Why were the employees arrested?
The public information identified suspicions of fraud, bribery and misconduct in public office, but the sources available here do not provide detailed allegations or evidence explaining the suspected conduct. In its 3 July 2024 statement, PDS confirmed the categories of suspicion but did not name the employees or set out case particulars.
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The Guardian reported on 4 July 2024 that the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and the National Police Chiefs’ Council had received information about allegations concerning individuals at PDS and passed it to City of London Police. The Home Office said it supported the steps being taken and that work was under way to protect frontline services and public funds.
Have the suspects been named or charged?
The September 2024 Computer Weekly account said the individuals had not been publicly identified. The sources located for this article do not establish that their identities were subsequently disclosed. They also do not establish a charging decision or any court outcome. Computer Weekly’s 2 September 2024 follow-up covered what was then known about the case and related organisational developments.
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It would therefore be inaccurate to describe either employee as guilty, convicted, corrupt or a fraudster. The confirmed description remains that two employees were arrested on suspicion of the stated offences.
Is the investigation still ongoing?
The latest case-specific status located is from Computer Weekly’s 27 August 2025 report, which said City of London Police had confirmed the criminal investigation was still ongoing at that time. That dated report does not establish whether the case later closed, led to charges, or resulted in a court decision. No later outcome is established by the sources cited here, so its status on 4 October 2026 remains unconfirmed.
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What is known about PDS’s response?
PDS said the employees were suspended pending the police investigation, commissioned an independent HR consultancy to conduct a misconduct review, and planned a thorough organisational review. The organisation also said: “The company’s work continues unaffected.” The Home Office’s 4 July 2024 response, reported by The Guardian, said work was under way to protect frontline services and public funds.
Computer Weekly later reported leadership changes at PDS, including the departure of chief executive Ian Bell and appointment of an interim chief executive, as well as a leadership restructuring and “reset programme” in 2025. Those reports do not establish the findings of PDS’s reviews or show that each staffing change was caused by the alleged conduct.
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