The head of the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) has been sacked two months after he was arrested on suspicion of fraud.
PFEW chief executive Mukund Krishna, 46, had his contract terminated on Sunday following the claims of financial wrongdoing.
Mr Krishna, who was paid more than £700,000 a year in his role, was arrested by City of London police at his Surrey home in March, and was bailed as part of what detectives said was an extremely complex investigation.
A 51-year-old man from Wales and a 55-year-old man from Bristol, both former senior members of the national staff association, were also arrested on suspicion of fraud by abuse of position in coordinated raids.
The PFEW is a staff association which represents more than 145,000 rank-and-file officers.
In his first statement since his arrest, Mr Krishna said he would fight the claims.
He told The Guardian: “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 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 per cent 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.”
In a statement issued on Monday, a spokesman for the PFEW said: “Mukund Krishna’s employment with the 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.”
Mr Krishna was also accused of dismissing women as “stupid” in an employment tribunal just weeks ago.
Gemma Fox is claiming that the federation forced her out of her promising career as deputy national secretary, alleging that Mr Krishna called her “stupid” and told her “I know what women are like”.
She claims that Mr Krishna said she was unable to perform her job without his support and called another woman “stupid and belligerent”.
Ms Fox also claims she was the butt of jokes about female drivers and was criticised for attending meetings virtually after giving birth to her daughter.
The federation denies the allegations, and the case at Watford Employment Tribunal is ongoing.
Mr Krishna had also faced calls to resign earlier this year when the organisation lost a free speech challenge in the High Court.
Rick Prior, a former chair of the Metropolitan Police Federation, was suspended in October 2024 after warning that his members were increasingly nervous about challenging people from some ethnic minorities for fear of being labelled racist.
Richard Cooke was also removed as chairman of the West Midlands police federation for posting a comment online disputing suggestions his force was “institutionally racist”.
The High Court ruled that both suspensions were unlawful and breached both men’s rights to freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, despite the PFEW spending more than half a million pounds in legal costs defending the claim.
