The council went into bankruptcy after over a decade of poor investment decisions by leadership but now the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has been tipped to investigate former senior figures.

Woking Council declared itself bankrupt in 2023 after ploughing money into property investment schemes in the area, racking up over £2bn of debt in the process.

A Grant Thornton report from last year claimed there was evidence of ‘potential unlawful lending’ at the council.

The Guardian has now reported that the FRC plans to open an investigation. Although the individuals are not currently named it is expected to include the former CEO and finance director that were mentioned in Grant Thornton’s Public Interest Report.

Former CEO of the council Ray Morgan, told the Guardian: ‘Until I know what it is with the FRC – if they are going to proceed – I am not really in a position to comment to you.’

The spending at Woking Council was compared to the amount of spending that would take place at a large city council such as Birmingham, which is also effectively bankrupt.

The FRC was contacted but declined to comment.

Woking Borough Council asked for £1bn of debt to be written off in January 2025 in anticipation of the merger of 12 Surrey councils announced in Labour’s shake up of local government. Local council elections scheduled for May this year have been delayed as a result.

Woking Council finances show ‘potential unlawful’ lending | 7 Nov 2024

Woking council goes bankrupt with £1.9bn debt | 7 Jun 2023