Dear Rishi. You are facing an unprecedented challenge. We have the solution: The Proof of Trust
London, UK, September 28, 2020 – The Proof of Trust Ltd (“The Proof of Trust”) has a globally patented technology, built in partnership with IBM, which can help the UK Government – as well as other governments around the world – ‘preserve the good’ within their Covid-related support schemes.
The UK, along with the rest of developing world, is facing a new swathe of challenges in the form of fraud and corruption in a post-Covid world. It is expected that the courts and arbitration systems will not be able to cope with the level of Covid related fraud, whether that is from furlough claims or other support schemes.
The UK Government announced its Winter Economy Plan last week, which included a new Job Support Scheme to replace the incumbent furlough scheme. The number of applications for what is effectively an extended furlough scheme will be significant as businesses continue to struggle despite the easing of lockdown restrictions. Any support scheme must help those that truly need it; not the businesses that are no longer operating, or who are claiming for employees that are not on their payroll.
The UK Government rightly wants to be able to respond and help companies and individuals quickly. The speed with which applications will be made and paid out, out of necessity, will inevitably create opportunities for those whose intentions are not aligned to the spirit of the support scheme. It exists to help those that could not survive without it. This is an issue that technology can help address.
Earlier this month, HM Revenue & Customs (“HMRC”) referenced a potential fraud figure of £3.5 billion for the current furlough scheme, which is unfortunately only going to increase day by day. The figure is based on 27,000 ‘high risk’ claims that are to be investigated by HMRC. This is a time intensive process as each claim must be checked thoroughly by an individual to determine whether it is lawful before the courts are even involved. Clearly, there is an inevitable bandwidth issue that technology can provide a solution for. Just imagine what could be achieved with a platform that integrates with HMRC’s current Connect system to facilitate the analysis of many more claims in a fraction of the time.
The Proof of Trust can provide non collusive independent adjudication of every single ‘high risk’ claim (and more) within days and at a fraction of the cost of traditional court or arbitration resolutions. There is no way around the protocol that The Proof of Trust has developed, which is designed by IBM and provides speed of analysis and insight that is irrefutable.
By ‘preserving the good’ in the Covid-support scheme, technology can restore trust and recover essential public funds to be deployed to those that truly need it.
Dean Armstrong QC, CEO of The Proof of Trust
