Construction, Court Cases, MENA (Middle East & North Africa) - Written by Barry & Richard on Thursday, February 24, 2011 0:59 - 0 Comments
BREAKING: Mabey & Johnson former Directors jailed
Yesterday Charles Forsyth former managing director, David Mabey former sales director and Richard Gledhill were jailed at Southwark Crown Court for 21 months, 8 months and 8 months suspended for 2 years respectively after each was found guilty of involvement in a corrupt kickback deal involving the sale of bridges to Iraq.
The former directors were also disqualified from being directors for between 2 and 5 years and ordered to pay costs of between £75,000 to £125,000.
Gledhill gave evidence for the prosecution having previously made a guilty plea (and in return he received a suspended sentence) but Forsyth and Mabey had denied wrongdoing. The jury found them guilty.
Sentencing HHJ Rivlin QC said: “The bare truth of this case is that Mr Forsyth bears the most culpability….When a director of a major company plays even a small part, he can expect to receive a custodial sentence”.
Richard Alderman SFO Director said: “This shows that the SFO is determined to go after senior corporate executives who break the law. I am pleased with the result. It sends out a very strong message from the courts on this type of offending.”
The remarks of the judge sentencing set a clear warning, if any were needed after the string of recent cases, that those involved in corrupt deals and brought before the courts should expect to find little sympathy.
David Mabey is one of the UK’s richest men who has previously featured in the Sunday Times Rich list with wealth generated by his family’s construction business.