Subcontractors jailed in £2m bribery case

Two sub-contractors from the East Midlands have been jailed after it was found they were bribing senior staff members at two leading energy firms to the tune of £2m in exchange for commercial contracts.

Mark Baker (from Goole) and Matthew Heyward (from Newton Abbot) were both employed at E.ON as head of build and quantity surveyor, later moving to work for British Gas.

Senior managers uncovered evidence that both men had been taking bribes from sub-contractor companies working on E.ON’s projects, particularly at Cranbrook, a new-build suburb outside Exeter. The men continued to accept bribes once they were at British Gas.

The bribes, which happened between 2011 and 2015, took many different forms, including payments, transfer of ownership of desirable vehicles, false references and wage slips for mortgage and rental applications, stays at hotels and even an air-conditioning unit.

Baker and Heyward accepted bribes from contractors Richard King of Lutterworth and Tim Paterson from Derby of Quorn-based RK Civil Engineering; and Andrew Blunsdon of Priddy Engineering Services, based in the south-west.

Baker and Heyward funnelled payments through business accounts they controlled and provided fake invoices in the company names to conceal the true nature of the payments.

Baker also persuaded E.ON to employ his wife Angela Baker as a “planner”, a role for which she was paid £109,000 in a 21 month period, despite her doing no such work.

Heyward and Baker were sentenced at Winchester Crown Court. Baker received three years and ten months in jail and Heyward received two and a half years.

Four other defendants were sentenced at the same court:

• Timothy Paterson (56 of Derby) – four years in jail
• Richard King (51 of Lutterworth) – two years and five months in jail
• Angela Baker (53 of Beal, Goole) – suspended sentence of 13 months
• Andrew Blunsdon (57 of Winscombe) – suspended sentence of 12 months

Tim Burton from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “This is a case of serious corruption and fraud within the energy sector, where the defendants abused their positions of trust and undermined the integrity of the industry.

“In their roles, Baker and Heyward were expected to perform their functions impartially and in the best interests of the companies. In reality, they were acting for personal gain and behaving in a completely dishonest way.

“We are determined to work with investigators to root out corporate fraud and corruption and bring those responsible to justice.

“We will also seek to pursue any money or assets gained through this criminality with our Proceeds of Crime Division.”