A senior Police officer is at the centre of a probe by the force's Fraud Investigation Unit following the alleged disappearance of thousands of dollars.

And yesterday Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Crockwell was suspended from duty pending the outcome of the investigation which is understood to be examining allegations that funds disappeared from the bank account of a construction company the detective helped set up.

The Royal Gazette understands that allegations have been made against Det. Chief Insp. Crockwell, the head of the Serious Crimes Unit, by his business partner, Andrew Bascome. When contacted yesterday, Mr. Bascome said he was shocked by the news of Det. Chief Insp. Crockwell's suspension, but had nothing more to say. But another employee at construction firm Bascro has said that funds in the firm's bank account went missing.

Quinton Francis said he was responsible for clocking the amount of hours the company's staff worked each week.

"I put the time in on Wednesday, but there was no pay on Friday," he said. "I am the timekeeper and I thought that by Friday all of this should be straight".

Yesterday a Police spokesman would only confirm that a senior officer had been suspended "in connection with a criminal complaint being made against him by a member of the public".

"The suspension is made under the provisions of the Police Act 1974 and is considered to be the standard practice where such allegations are made," the spokesman said.

"The complaint is not specifically connected with the officer's responsibilities as a Police Officer and it is being investigated by officers in the Fraud Investigation Unit. The Service is hopeful that the investigation will be completed expeditiously so that subsequent decisions regarding the disposition of the investigation can be taken."

Det. Chief Insp. Crockwell was the focus of an internal Police inquiry in January, 1999 when the force's Complaints and Discipline Unit investigated complaints that that the then-Inspector "borrowed" cash from two Police safes. However, the investigation was closed with no action taken after the file was passed to then-Police Commissioner Jean-Jacques Lemay.

At the time, then-Inspector Crockwell insisted his name had been cleared by the internal inquiry. Two years later he was placed in charge of the first Bermuda Police Support Unit and in October 2002, he was promoted to the rank of Chief Inspector.