One of the north-east’s oldest transport firms has been rocked over allegations committee members were misdirecting hundreds of thousands of pounds of benevolent fund cash into their own pockets.
Five members of Aberdeen Shore Porters Society, which has been based at the city’s harbour since 1498, are accused of siphoning off nearly £600,000 of funds intended for the organisation’s members – with each pocketing more than £100,000.
The alleged five-year scheme is said to have been carried out by Aberdeen Shore Porters committee members, with office managers Kevin Brown, Euan Cuthbert and Sean Simpson named in court documents.
Stuart Burnett and Alan Davidson, who are also accused of involvement in the plot, managed the company’s London-based business Rumsey and Son.
The men spent five years as trustees of the benevolent fund, which was primarily set up to support older members, widows and the orphaned children of deceased members.
‘Misallocating six-figure sum’
In an Edinburgh Court of Session debate over whether a case can be brought against the five men, they were accused by the society of “misallocating” the six-figure sum by overstating the expenses of the society’s property department.
It also alleges the money was later transferred to the men’s individual bank accounts.
Some of the overpayments were said to have been managed by holding back certain types of revenue and the allocation of wages paid for external work.
Aberdeen Shore Porters Society sought to prove that the actions broke its rules, while the men claimed there was no “specific rule” against the behaviour.
However, a rule set down by the society states that funds accumulated will never be used for any other purpose other than “management, benevolent and charitable” causes.
In the court papers, the society claims all the men were “aware of some degree of accounting irregularity by January 17, 2015, at the very latest”.
It adds: “All of the defenders were aware that improper cash payments had been withdrawn.
“None of them drew it to the attention of the wider membership or sought to have the accounts corrected, as they ought to have done.
“Instead they continued to sign accounts showing a position which they knew to be inaccurate, and to draw profits accordingly.”
The case, presided over by The Honourable Lady Wolffe, will now go to an evidential hearing to determine whether any misallocation of funds took place and whether any money is to be repaid.
Both Aberdeen Shore Porters Society and the legal team for the men declined to comment on the case at this stage.
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