Transcription

• Speaker #0

  Today in the Lefebvre HR and Employment Law podcast, we're discussing a criminal case involving the alleged bribery of two senior executives. The Crown Prosecution Service has recently publicised the convictions of two senior executives for bribery and fraud. The executives, B and H, worked for a power company, E Limited, before moving on to work for BG Limited. E Limited found evidence of illegal activity by B and H and reported this to the police who found that both men had been accepting bribes from subcontractor companies working on projects for E Limited, the police also found that B and H continued to accept bribes while working for BG Limited. The bribes took place between 2011 and 2015 and took many different forms including monetary payments, transferring ownership of luxury vehicles to the executives, providing false references and wage slips to be included as part of mortgage and rental applications, hotel stays and even an air conditioning unit. B and H funnelled the bribe payments through business accounts under their control and provided fake invoices in the company names to hide the true nature of those payments. B also persuaded E limited to employ his wife as a planner, and over a period of 21 months she was paid £109,000 despite doing no work. B was given a prison sentence of three years and ten months, and H was sentenced to two years and six months. Those responsible for paying the bribes also receive prison sentences ranging from a custodial sentence of four years to a suspended sentence of 12 months. B's wife received a suspended prison sentence of 13 months. This case demonstrates the potentially serious consequences of accepting or offering bribes for all involved and highlights the importance of having robust anti-bribery measures in place within any business. Look out for further episodes in this series to stay up to date on all things HR and employment law related.