Three construction bosses have pleaded guilty to taking part in a £2m bribery scandal in a bid to secure lucrative contracts.
Over a four-year period, the men bribed two former E.ON energy company employees in a fraud related to a major Devon housing development in Cranbrook.
Director of Bath-based Priddy Engineering Ltd Andrew Blunsdon and directors of Loughborough-based RK Civil Engineering Ltd (RKC) Richard King and Timothy Patterson all pleaded guilty to paying bribes to E.ON employees Mark Baker and Matthew Heyward.
RK Civil Engineering was liquidated in 2020 and Priddy Engineering is currently in the liquidation process.
Bribes amounting to a total of £2m were paid to Baker and Heyward in the form of cash, money paid in to bank accounts, the use of luxury cars, free hotel rooms, free building work and false references.
“The reason the bribes were paid is because these companies were construction contractors who either had or desired a commercial relationship with E.ON. Part of Baker’s role was deciding which companies should be given construction contracts at Cranbrook, and later at other locations around the UK,” Devon and Cornwall Police said.
“Heyward played a key role in authorising the payment of contractor’s invoices, particularly at Cranbrook.
“Blunsdon, King and Patterson knew Baker and Heyward to be in positions of influence when it came to the awarding and the management of contracts. They bribed them to further their own financial interests knowing they’d willingly act in a corrupt manner.”
The bribes started in 2011 and continued until the end of 2015 when E.ON discovered and reported the illegal activity. There was no wrongdoing on the part of the energy company itself.
“By accepting the bribes, the employees ensured that companies who made legitimate and fair bids lost out on the work,” the police said.
Baker, 56, of Goole, his wife Angela Baker, 53, also of Goole, Heyward, 51, of Kingsteignton, Devon, Patterson, 56, of Derby, King, 51 of Husbands Bosworth in South Leicestershire and Blunsdon, 57, of Winscombe in Somerset, were sentenced at Winchester Crown Court.
Baker, who was E.ON’s head of projects at the time, was jailed for 46 months and disqualified from being a company director for seven years.
He pleaded guilty to being bribed, four counts of fraud by false representation, being concerned in a money laundering arrangement and fraud by abuse of position.
His wife Angela Baker pleaded guilty to two fraud by false representation counts and being concerned in a money laundering arrangement and was sentenced to 13 months in prison, suspended for two years.
Heyward, who was employed as a quantity surveyor by E.ON and was responsible for signing off works, pleaded guilty to bribery and money laundering. He was jailed for 30 months and disqualified from being a company director for seven years.
Patterson admitted two fraud by false representation charges, two charges of bribing another person and one of acquiring criminal property.
He was jailed for four years and disqualified from being a company director for seven years.
King pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation and two counts of bribery and was jailed for 29 months.
Blunsdon admitted two counts of bribery and was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.
Detective inspector Dan Parkinson from the Devon and Cornwall Police Complex Fraud Team said: “These individuals believed corrupt practice was widespread in the construction industry and the method by which business was done.
“Corruption costs business and society, providing benefit for just a corrupt few. Ultimately, we all pay the price.
“These corrupt practices are a parasitic blight on society.
“It is through E.ON’s initial identification of concerns and reporting this corrupt practice to Devon and Cornwall Police that enabled these convictions to be obtained.”
An E.ON UK spokesperson said: “Our internal processes enabled us to identify this case and take decisive action. Reflecting our zero-tolerance approach to bribery, we reported the matter to the police and have fully supported their investigation.”