Police are investigating an alleged cheque fraud scheme at the Public Works Department after several cheques were reportedly taken from a secured area and at least one was allegedly altered before being presented for payment.

Prime Minister Gaston Browne disclosed the investigation while speaking on his weekly Brown & Brown Show on Point FM over the weekend.

Browne was responding to questions about recent concerns at Public Works, including delayed payments to newly hired workers and outstanding overtime, when he revealed that authorities were also dealing with a separate matter involving missing cheques.

“I don’t want to say much about it because it’s a subject of an investigation now,” Browne said.

According to the Prime Minister, individuals allegedly gained access to what he described as a “sterile area” controlled by the Permanent Secretary, where a cheque book had reportedly been secured.

Browne said the individuals allegedly got their hands on the cheque book and wrote cheques from it.

He pointed to one case in which a legitimate cheque for $900 was allegedly altered by placing the number “2” in front of the amount, changing its value to $2,900.

“This was a real cheque,” Browne explained, while stressing that it had allegedly been stolen and subsequently altered.

The Prime Minister said the attempt was detected.

He also disclosed another alleged incident involving a stolen cheque valued at $3,000.

According to Browne, that cheque was presented at a supermarket, but the business owner became suspicious and reported the matter.

“The supermarket owner recognized something wasn’t right with it and reported it,” Browne said.

He indicated that several individuals have since been detained by police in connection with the matter, while stressing that the investigation remains ongoing.

No names were disclosed during the radio programme, and Browne did not provide details on the total number or value of the cheques believed to have been taken.

The revelations come as Public Works deals with separate concerns surrounding delayed salary and overtime payments.

Browne said a number of employees recruited approximately two to three months ago had not received their first salaries, while other workers were owed overtime. He attributed those delays largely to bureaucracy and said instructions were given to the Permanent Secretary, staff and Treasury to expedite the outstanding payments.

Later in the programme, Browne said he had received information from Public Works indicating that overtime had been paid up to January 2026. He said he had asked officials to accelerate the processing of outstanding vouchers so that the remaining overtime payments could be brought up to date.

The alleged cheque irregularities are being treated separately from the workers’ outstanding payment concerns, with the Prime Minister making clear that the cheque matter is now the subject of a police investigation.