Ex-Police Federation boss confident he will be exonerated of corruption claims

The former head of the England-and-Wales" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="138507" data-entity-type="organization">Police Federation of England and Wales who was arrested on suspicion of corruption has told The Guardian he is confident he will be “entirely exonerated” and is “proud” of his record at the organisation.Mukund Krishna, who was the chief executive of the staff association, is facing claims of financial wrongdoing and had his contract terminated on Sunday.At the time of his arrest in March, police said they were investigating “allegations of fraud relating to governance and financial decision-making” within the federation, which represents 145,000 officers.In his first statement since his arrest, Krishna said he would fight the claims. “I vigorously deny the allegations made against me. At all times I have acted with integrity, in accordance with the rules and governance of the organisation, and followed advice. I am confident that, in time, I will be entirely exonerated.“I am proud of everything that we accomplished during my time as chief executive of the England-and-Wales" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="138507" data-entity-type="organization">Police Federation of England and Wales. I worked tirelessly on behalf of the more than 145,000 officers this organisation represents.“Under my leadership, the federation secured a 16% pay rise over three years for frontline officers and recovered more than £150m in compensation for members. We increased revenues, and reduced litigation liabilities from more than £110m to less than £40m, putting the organisation on a sound financial footing,” he said.“I am proud of that record and the difference it made to the lives of serving police officers across England and Wales,” he added.The 46-year-old former management consultant was arrested at his Surrey home by officers from the City of London police as part of an investigation into alleged financial wrongdoing at the federation.He was bailed as part of what detectives said was an extremely complex investigation.Two former senior federation officials were also arrested in coordinated raids. A 51-year-old man from Wales and a 55-year-old man from Bristol were arrested on suspicion of fraud by abuse of position, as was Krishna.A spokesperson for the Police Federation said: “Mukund Krishna’s employment with the England-and-Wales" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="138507" data-entity-type="organization">Police Federation of England and Wales came to an end on 31 May 2026.“His basic salary, without bonus, was paid up to that point. He will not receive any further payments. A process to appoint a permanent chief executive will begin in due course.”Krishna’s remuneration package was worth £701,100 a year for both 2024 and 2025. The package included a basic salary of £342,000, a retention bonus worth up to 100% of that salary and pension contributions.Rick Prior, a former chair of the Metropolitan police federation, was suspended in an unconnected matter in October 2024 after warning that his members were increasingly nervous about challenging people from some ethnic minorities for fear of being labelled racist.Two months later, Richard Cooke was removed as chair of the West Midlands police federation in another unconnected matter after posting a comment online disputing suggestions his force was “institutionally racist”.