THE PSNI has remained unclear on why it said there were no investigations or complaints relating to the Romanian Roma Community Association of Northern Ireland (RRCANI) – despite being made aware of exploitation allegations months earlier.
In August anonymous claims about the south Belfast organisation were published online alleging that Romanians in south Belfast were being exploited.
When asked about the allegations, the PSNI initially said there were no investigations in relation to RRCANI.
But the following week police said: “While we have not received any reports or complaints to date, we are making enquiries into possible wrongdoing.”
However, Belfast trust correspondence obtained by The Irish News suggests the trust made police aware of concerns back in May.
Whistleblowers contacted the trust alleging that RRCANI was charging Roma families for benefits advice and “fraudulently filling out benefits applications without their consent”.
RRCANI has denied the allegations.
Read more:
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- Sinn Féin MLA tweeted Romanian group support despite Belfast trust concerns
In one trust email, an official said in May they had written to the PSNI to “seek their advice”, while another said a meeting was scheduled with the PSNI’s Modern Slavery Unit and Economic Fraud Unit.
When asked why police said in August there were no investigations and that it had “not received any reports or complaints to date”, Chief Inspector Gary Reid said in a statement: “Following receipt of a number of social media posts earlier this year, police have not received any complaints due to their content.
“Officers have made enquiries into the contents of these social media posts and this is ongoing.”
