It is being claimed that two subcontractor suppliers on HS2 are being investigated after evidence was found indicating that a senior works manager had accepted bribes from a supplier in return for extra work on the project.
It is also alleged in a letter seen by The ذكذكتسئµ that another subcontractor has been supplying self-employed CIS workers while charging an inflated PAYE rate and using fraudulent offshore payroll companies to process these bogus payments.
“This is fraud on a large scale which the public have a right to be informed of,†the whistleblower says.
The companies named in the letter have been contacted by us for comment. All deny knowledge of the allegations.
Aside from an anonymous testimony, there is no evidence of any wrongdoing.
The allegations come amid a recent increase in bribery and corruption being exposed in the construction industry and action being taken to combat it.
In the past couple of months we have reported on four separate cases:
- Six people were jailed at the start of this month for their involvement in a criminal conspiracy that included bribery, money laundering and fraud centred on the Cranbrook development in East Devon.
- The Serious Fraud Office arrested three people recently over suspicions that individuals at Blu-3 paid more than آ£3m of bribes to former associates of Mace Group in relation to work on the construction of a Microsoft data centre in the Netherlands.
- Also last month four men were jailed for bribery involving Keltbray site managers and a demolition subcontractor.
- In March 12 people were charged in relation to bribes being paid for construction contracts in Liverpool. Among those charged were former mayor Joe Anderson and former council leader Derek Hatton.
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
