Construction services company Sweett Group has been sentenced in the case relating to acts of bribery at its Middle East practice.
The group is the first company to be found guilty and sentenced under Section 7 of the UK Bribery Act 2010 and has been hit with a fine of £1.4m and an £851,000 confiscation order.
The company had earlier pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to prevent an act of bribery intended to secure and retain a contract, contrary to Section 7(1) (b) of the Bribery Act 2010.
A Sweett Group subsidiary had made corrupt payments to Khaled Al Badie, a member of a prominent family in the United Arab Emirates who was a member of the investment board of Al Ain Ahlia Insurance Company.
It awarded Sweett Group’s Middle East subsidiary a consultancy contract on the £63m Rotana Hotel development.
The landmark judgement was passed by His Honour Judge Beddoe at Southwark Crown Court after Sweett Group earlier admitted the offence following an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).
The trial has been a costly one for Sweett Group. Alongside the £2.25m in fines and confiscation orders imposed by the court, the company has also incurred £2.6m in costs relating to the SFO investigation and has written £500,000 off the value of its Middle East business.
Earlier this month, it also announced that it was closing all four of its Middle East offices, employing a total of 90 staff, meaning further restructuring costs are likely.
After the judgement, Douglas McCormick, Sweett Group’s chief executive, said in a statement it could now “look to the future with confidence”.
He said: “We have strengthened our internal systems, controls and risk procedures, and refined our strategy, focusing on profitability and cash flow.”
As well as withdrawing from the Middle Eastern market, Sweet Group has sold its Indian business, to focus on UK, Europe and North America. But it pointed out that the sentence does not exclude it from tendering for public sector work under EU or UK law.
