Why did Fujitsu's flawed system lead to the imprisonment and suicide of innocent people in the "biggest wrongful conviction case in British history?" 2024.1.19
A situation has arisen in which Fujitsu becomes a party to "Britain's biggest false accusation case". Although there are many unresolved facts, as we have investigated the situation, we have become aware of Fujitsu's problems.
A)
1)
Britain's Biggest False Accusation Case - How Did Fujitsu Become Involved?
A situation has arisen in which Fujitsu has become a party to "the largest false accusation case in British history". Many facts about this issue have not yet been clarified, and some aspects still cannot be conclusively stated.
2)
However, I would like to explain Fujitsu's problems and management responsibilities as clearly as possible.
It has now emerged that the Horizon accounting system supplied by Fujitsu UK to the UK Post Office in 1999 was flawed.
B)
3)
Due to a flaw in the accounting system, there was a discrepancy between the cash at the Post Office counter and the balance shown by the system.
However, at the time, it was determined that the difference was due to embezzlement or fraudulent accounting by the postmaster. As a result, more than 700 postmasters were prosecuted between 2000 and 2014.
4)
The postmasters who were prosecuted were forced to make up the shortfall from their assets, and some were jailed on charges including embezzlement. Four people have been driven to suicide simply by knowing this.
In the UK, the entire post office system is run by a company called Post Office, which is 100% owned by the government. Individual entrepreneurs run small local post offices. This is a criminal case in which the head office, the Post Office, prosecuted the franchise owner, the Postmaster General.
5)
In 2009, it was suggested that a flaw in the system may have been the cause, but the Post Office denied this, and the prosecution continued. Eventually, the situation deteriorated until a UK court found in 2019 that the lack of balance was caused by a flaw in the system, in what is now described as "the biggest case of false accusation in British history".
C)
6)
The British legal system makes it difficult to resolve cases.
As Prime Minister Sunak has clearly stated, legal reform is necessary to provide redress for victims. One of the reasons why these cases of wrongful conviction are so complex to resolve is the British legal system.
7)
The problem is that the Post Office was originally a government department, and the legal system allows the internal watchdog to take on the role of prosecutor and pursue cases of embezzlement and accounting fraud on its own.
During the prosecution, the victims were offered a plea bargain that would allow them to avoid jail if they pleaded guilty, so they pleaded guilty even though they were innocent.
8)
After the victims have been sentenced and paid for their crimes, they learn that there were many other victims like them, but there is also a legal barrier that only individual appeals can take place in this case.
I think this is a case of false accusations, but the Post Office cannot accept false allegations from the prosecutor's point of view, so if things continue like this, it looks like we will have to restart to appeal all 700 cases.
9)
Ultimately, legal reform is needed to quash all convictions and remove the prosecutorial power from the Post Office.
There are now growing calls in the UK for Fujitsu to pay compensation for the incident. Fujitsu stated the media, saying, "The investigation has shown that the lives of the postmasters and their families have been devastated, and Fujitsu has apologised for its role in that suffering."
10)
More recently, Fujitsu executives were questioned at a public hearing and made statements acknowledging their moral responsibility.
So, what is Fujitsu's responsibility?
D)
11)
"The person responsible for concealing the system failure" remains unidentified - what responsibility does Fujitsu have?
This point is quite complicated.
To recapitulate the incident, there was a bug in the system supplied by Fujitsu UK, and the Post Office Inspectorate, which had not been informed of the bug, prosecuted one accounting fraud after another. This is the essence of the matter.
12)
The British government is trying to prosecute the Post Office for fraud. But what remains unanswered in this case is that at some point, it was known that there was a flaw in the system, but those responsible kept it hidden.
This person or organisation should be held responsible for the incident, but this has not yet been clarified.
E)
13)
From here, I will summarise the matter in general terms. In reality, the story may change depending on the content of each contract, but this will become clear through the information that will be disclosed in future trials so that I can explain the situation in general.
14)
Generally speaking, in contracts for developing such large-scale accounting systems, the post office that commissioned the product is responsible for owning and operating the system. On the other hand, vendors such as Fujitsu UK, which was contracted to do the story, are accountable for ensuring the system works properly.
15)
In detail, the responsibility changes depending on whether it is a commissioned or a contracted contract, but based on current social issues, we can assume that the above explanation is probably correct.
The social problem is that Fujitsu UK continues to receive huge contracts from the UK government despite being involved in such issues.
F)
16)
According to reports, Fujitsu UK has won 101 contracts totalling 370 billion yen over the past four years, including 6.7 billion yen for the Horizon extension contract.
This fact has come as a blow to Fujitsu UK, but on the other hand, it can be inferred from this contract that the Post Office is primarily responsible.
17)
Generally speaking, if such a situation had arisen, Fujitsu UK would have informed the Post Office of the system failure at some point. Given that a system failure was identified in a court case in 2009, there is a good chance that some information was exchanged before and after that.
18)
However, this is sensitive information for future trials.
This is because the number of people in the Post Office who knew about it will determine who is prosecuted for fraud. There is a good chance it will reach a position well above the post office.
19)
As a fiduciary company, Fujitsu should be in a place where it cannot disclose this information to outside parties other than through public prosecution or public hearings, as this would violate contractual confidentiality obligations.
G)
20)
Fujitsu UK's governance issues complicate matters.
For Fujitsu, I think this is something that the management team is reluctant to talk about, but what complicates the situation is Fujitsu UK's governance issues.
The parent company of Fujitsu UK is ICL, a prominent British IT company. It was a British national IT company, but the Thatcher government considered selling it off when it went into red.
21)
Fujitsu came forward to buy the company, and ICL became a subsidiary of Fujitsu in 1990. Fujitsu later became the sole shareholder, and the company's name was changed to its current name in 2002.
A wholly owned subsidiary becomes part of the parent company in law and rights, but not all subsidiaries listen to their parents. Some subsidiaries worldwide have changed the capital of their parent company and do not listen to what their parents have to say.
22)
I do not have a direct business relationship with Fujitsu. However, since I have been consulting in the IT industry for a long time, I know a lot about Fujitsu's acquisition of ICL, an example of an M&A strategy.
H)
23)
Fujitsu UK was a complex unit for Fujitsu HQ to control.
The management team seems to have no choice but to observe this incident, which has become a highly political issue. Although I will continue to monitor the situation, there is a risk that Fujitsu UK will be used as a scapegoat, so we must intervene carefully as the situation develops.
24)
This is a situation that the government should also be concerned about, as it could go beyond a single company issue and become a political issue between countries.
Anyway, I am always thinking about false accusations in general. I believe it is a social problem that is common worldwide in that it is challenging to help the victims. This is a heartbreaking incident.
Why did Fujitsu's flawed system lead to the imprisonment and suicide of innocent people in the "biggest wrongful conviction case in British history?" 2024.1.19
https://diamond.jp/articles/-/337455
