Six people, including three construction bosses and two former employees at energy company E.ON, have been sentenced for their involvement in a criminal conspiracy linked to a major housing development in East Devon.
A statement from Devon & Cornwall Police said the ex-E.ON employees were found to have accepted bribes, including cash, fancy hotel rooms and access to luxury cars, among other bribes, in exchange for work relating to the Cranbrook development.
By accepting the bribes, the E.ON employees ensured that companies that made legitimate and fair bids lost out on the work, the police said.
The wrongdoing was identified by E.ON after the employees moved on, investigated and reported, leading to a long and complex police investigation.
There was no wrongdoing on the part of the energy company itself, the police said.
Cash, luxury hotel rooms and free building work
In 2010, E.ON was awarded a contract to provide district heating to a project being developed at Cranbrook.
Mark Baker was appointed as E.ON’s head of projects and subsequently head of build for the project. Matthew Heyward was employed as a quantity surveyor, responsible for signing off works.
Baker, who is married to Angela Baker, accepted bribes from individuals behind the companies Priddy Engineering Limited and RK Civil Engineering (RKC), with Heyward also receiving illegal payments.
Priddy Engineering Ltd was controlled by Andrew Blunsdon, who paid bribes to both Mark Baker and Heyward.
RKC was one of a group of companies controlled by Richard King. King’s partner at RKC was Timothy Patterson. Bank accounts linked to the two paid a combined total of over £1.5m to Mark Baker and Heyward.
The bribes arrived in the form of cash, money paid into bank accounts, the use of luxury cars, free hotel rooms, free building work and false references used to fraudulently facilitate several house moves.
The reason the bribes were paid is that these companies were construction contractors who either had or desired a commercial relationship with E.ON, Devon & Cornwall Police said. Part of Mark Baker’s role was deciding which companies should be given construction contracts at Cranbrook and later at other locations around the UK.
Heyward played a key role in authorising the payment of contractors’ invoices, particularly at Cranbrook.
Blunsdon, King and Patterson knew Mark Baker and Heyward to be in positions of influence when it came to the awarding and management of contracts.
Devon and Cornwall Police said 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.
Sentencing
Mark Baker, Angela Baker, Heyward, Patterson, King and Blunsdon pleaded guilty to various offences at Winchester Crown Court on 30 April and 1 May.
Mark Baker was jailed for 46 months and disqualified from being a company director for seven years.
Heyward was jailed for 30 months and disqualified from being a company director for seven years.
King was jailed for 29 months.
Patterson was jailed for four years and disqualified from being a company director for seven years.
Angela Baker was sentenced to 13 months in prison, suspended for two years and made subject to a three-month 8pm to 6am curfew.
Blunsdon was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years and must complete 150 hours of unpaid work.
A complex and time-consuming investigation
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.
“Bribery is a criminal offence and it is illegal for both employer and employee to offer, promise, give a bribe or receive or accept a bribe.
“This was a complex and time-consuming investigation but we are happy to have worked alongside E.ON and secured convictions against six defendants who believed rules did not apply to them and they could do whatever they wanted in order to reach their desired goal.
“These practices were often referred to as favours. Favours they are not, they are simply corrupt criminal practices.”
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.”
