The system problem, which caused the balances at postal stores to appear lower than the actual amounts and suggested the operators were stealing money, was already confirmed in 2019. Postal services minister
But a recent TV drama featuring the decades-old case encouraged many more of those involved to break their long silence and call for compensation by making new contact with lawyers.
The growing outcry prompted Prime Minister
The British government has disbursed 138 million pounds (
Amid fresh calls in
In
More than 700 people faced charges of alleged embezzlement or accounting fraud between 1999 and 2015, and at least four killed themselves after the balances displayed in the system were found to be lower than the actual amount of cash at their workplaces.
Some of the accused went bankrupt after they were required to pay the discrepancies, according to reports.
In 2019, the system failures were confirmed in a civil suit ruling.
Hollinrake told parliament Monday, regarding the government's view of possible compensation from Fujitsu, "Anybody who is shown to be responsible for this scandal should be held accountable, including by making payments into the taxpayer's fund."
Fujitsu apologized to those who were falsely accused and pledged to cooperate in the ongoing investigation in a statement, without commenting on compensation.
==Kyodo
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