Investigation continues into PPE Medpro
The National Crime Agency (NCA) has said that its long-running investigation into suspected criminal offences committed in the procurement of PPE contracts by PPE Medpro, the company led by Conservative peer Michelle Mone’s husband, Doug Barrowman, will be concluded “as quickly as possible”.
The company was awarded contracts worth more than £200 million for the supply of millions of face masks and sterile surgical gowns in May and June 2020, after Ms Mone approached Cabinet Office ministers Michael Gove and Theodore Agnew, who were at the time responsible for procurement. This was known at the time as the Government’s “VIP lane”, which gave high priority to companies with political connections.
Standard procurement rules requiring competition for government contracts were suspended at the onset of the pandemic, due to the urgent need to secure medical supplies. However, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has since issued breach of contract proceedings over the 2020 deal.
Despite denying for years that they were even involved in PPE Medpro, in January this year the couple had £75 million worth of assets frozen after the investigation found that they had moved £65 million in profits from PPE Medpro to trusts and accounts linked to Mr Barrowman, from which Ms Mone and her children stand to benefit.
According to the NCA, a full file on the case, which focuses on allegations of conspiracy to defraud, fraud by false representation and bribery, has “not yet” been passed to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in relation to any charges but the implication is that it soon will be.
Roger Isaacs, National Technical Director of NIFA, said “If the court finds Ms Mone and her husband guilty it is unlikely that any more than the £75 million that has been frozen will ever be recovered. Sadly, this is not unusual.
“£75 million represents less than half of the value of the PPE contract which raises the question as to what happened to the rest of the money. That said, the NCA acted relatively quickly in this case so that at least some of the funds have been secured.
“Often forensic accountants can help law enforcement agencies to trace assets so that they can be identified and seized as soon as possible to avoid their dissipation over the course of the many months or even years that can elapse between the start of an investigation and a trial”.
Sources: Guardian, BBC News
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