The scheme began in September 2000 and involved the government subsidising courses for adults in basic skills or subjects like computing.
Students paid a small contribution, with course providers claiming the rest of the fee from the government.
But tricksters are alleged to have claimed money for non-existent courses and to have used people's names to claim money without their knowledge.
The problem was exacerbated by Capita failing to include any "exception reports" to highlight unusual items of activity or particularly large claims from training providers, two of which exceeded £6m.
The scheme cost £273m in total - but there is no clear picture of how much of this was stolen, as it is not known how many of the 2.6m accounts opened were genuine.
At one point, 10,000 accounts were being opened daily - and the ILA budget was over-spent by £93.6m.
Hundreds of course providers are now being investigated. More than 100 files have been sent to the police and 60 people arrested.
Some of these are awaiting court appearances and one has been sentenced to nine months in prison. The DfES is also pursuing another 400 providers.
Students paid a small contribution, with course providers claiming the rest of the fee from the government.
But tricksters are alleged to have claimed money for non-existent courses and to have used people's names to claim money without their knowledge.
The problem was exacerbated by Capita failing to include any "exception reports" to highlight unusual items of activity or particularly large claims from training providers, two of which exceeded £6m.
The scheme cost £273m in total - but there is no clear picture of how much of this was stolen, as it is not known how many of the 2.6m accounts opened were genuine.
At one point, 10,000 accounts were being opened daily - and the ILA budget was over-spent by £93.6m.
Hundreds of course providers are now being investigated. More than 100 files have been sent to the police and 60 people arrested.
Some of these are awaiting court appearances and one has been sentenced to nine months in prison. The DfES is also pursuing another 400 providers.
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