Engineering firm chief paid bribes to staff of giants E.ON

CASH, FALSE REFERENCES, CARS USED TO SECURE DEVELOPMENT CONTRACTS

- By FILIPA GASPAR

A DERBY company director has been jailed for four years for his part in bribing energy officials linked to a major housing development with £2million, including cash and cars, to secure lucrative contracts.

In total, six people have been sentenced for involvement in a criminal conspiracy centred around the then new community of Cranbrook in Devon.

Two former employees at the energy company E.ON were found to have accepted bribes in the form of cash, false invoices, references and home improvements, among other bribes, in exchange for work relating to Cranbrook.

One of the employees was kept on side by being provided with fake references used to fraudulently facilitate several house moves.

There was no wrongdoing on the part of the energy company itself.

By accepting the bribes, the employees ensured that companies that made legitimate and fair bids lost out on the work.

In 2010, Cranbrook was being developed with new-build houses and E.ON was awarded a contract to provide district heating for the project.