CTM admits overcharging UK government by \u00a3118m Irregularities linked to asylum housing and quarantine contracts Home Office reviewing contracts as repayments continue<\/p>\n
The UK government\u2019s asylum accommodation contracts are facing renewed scrutiny after Corporate Travel Management (CTM), an Australian company, admitted it overcharged its UK clients, including the government, by \u00a3118m. The disclosure, tied to contracts covering asylum housing and pandemic-era quarantine hotels, adds to growing concerns around oversight in public spending on migration infrastructure.<\/p>\n
The company, which operated the Bibby Stockholm asylum barge and arranged accommodation for asylum seekers, said its internal audit uncovered \u201cerroneous billing\u201d in its UK business. The latest figure marks a sharp revision from earlier estimates, which had already raised alarms within government circles.<\/p>\n
\u00a354m to \u00a3118m: How the numbers get raising<\/p>\n
The scale of the overcharging did not emerge all at once. CTM had initially identified an overbilling of \u00a354.6m by 2022. That figure was revised to \u00a377.6m in November 2025, before climbing again to \u00a3118m following a deeper forensic investigation by auditors at KPMG.<\/p>\n
The company has suggested that some of the discrepancies were linked to funds that should have been returned but were retained instead. It is now in discussions with the UK government to settle repayments, having already begun returning a portion of the money.<\/p>\n
What has complicated matters further is the company\u2019s own admission that it may have relied on documents that were not genuine. CTM said it became aware that certain \u201cletter agreements\u201d \u2014 believed to confirm repayment arrangements \u2014 might not have been authentic, contradicting what its board had previously understood.<\/p>\n