A senior police officer who helped bring a £1 million fraudster to justice said that he had never before seen one individual carry out public sector corruption on that scale.
Detective Inspector Iain McPhail was the senior investigating officer in the case of Dundee City Council employee Mark Conway.
The IT worker was sentenced to five years and four months in prison after he admitted stealing more than £1m over seven years.
Conway, of Latch Road, Brechin, altered invoices to pay money from the local authority into his personal bank account — but made it look like the money was being paid to legitimate creditors.
He claimed he had done so due to a gambling addiction and subsequent debts.
Det Insp McPhail said: “I think the sentence handed out to Mr Conway reflects the extreme seriousness of the crime. This wasn’t an opportunist theft — it was a pattern of behaviour over more than seven years against his employer.
“Although I have been involved in investigations which were more complex in nature, I’ve never seen public sector corruption on this scale carried out by one individual.”
Det Insp McPhail said the level of trust placed in Conway had allowed his crime to go undetected for the length of time it did.
He added: “While there is a level of sympathy with anyone who is suffering from an addiction, there are ways in which Mr Conway could have sought help for his gambling problem, rather than turning to crime. He chose not to do that.
“Ultimately, only one person is to blame for this crime and that is Mark Conway.”
Det Insp McPhail said Police Scotland would work with the city council to look at how the crime went undetected for so long.
Information would also be gathered and shared to prevent a crime of this nature happening to other organisations.
He added: “What I would reiterate is that Mark Conway did not get away with this crime. He was caught and has received a significant custodial sentence as a result.
“That should serve as a stark warning to anyone considering a crime of dishonesty against their employer.”
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