The claim was worth £2.4m, and was brought forward by Circadian Ltd against the Carey Group, PJ Carey Plant Hire, and TE Scudder
The demolition-cartel accusation was brought to the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) in March, claiming damages plus interest and costs.
The claim was that the three firms were guilty of demolition bid-rigging and causing losses, following the Competition and Markets Authority’s 2022 bid-rigging investigation targeting 10 demolition companies.
Now, the CAT has confirmed that settlement has been reached with confidential terms, and the claim has been dropped.
Construction crime on the rise?
In February, a rather large case of construction tax fraud saw several arrests and convictions by Kent Police working with HMRC.
The group formed a construction ‘mafia’ that focused their organised crime around a series of labour supply companies that withhold VAT payments from jobs, holding onto the money instead of sending it to HMRC, and also keeping deductions from sub-contractor agreements.
It is estimated that the group took £22m.
The convictions included:
- Phillip Bailey, 36, was jailed for six years and three months on charges of conspiring to cheat the public revenue and transferring criminal property
- Daniel Newton, 37, was jailed for nine years and four months on charges of conspiring to cheat the public revenue and transferring criminal property
- Kevin Ratcliffe, 43, was jailed for 27 months on charges of conspiring to cheat the public revenue and acquiring criminal property
- Sean Dean, 41, was jailed for seven years on the charge of conspiracy to cheat the public revenue
- Lee Hudson, 56, was jailed for five years on the charge of conspiracy to cheat the public revenue
- Sarah Gillard, 41, was jailed for two years and given a two-year suspended sentence on the charge of acquiring criminal property
- Bradley Mortimer, 39, was jailed for three and a half years on the charge of entering into a money laundering arrangement
Fraud in major projects
HS2 also saw some controversy, as in June they reported one of the subcontractors supplying the Balfour Beatty VINCI joint venture to HMRC over fraud allegations.
A HS2 statement regarding the issue said: “We treat all whistleblower allegations seriously and are continuing to conduct our own investigation.
“Furthermore, HS2 Ltd has formally reported the allegations to HMRC, and we encourage anyone who believes they may have relevant information, which could support our enquiries, to report it in confidence via HS2’s Speak Out channels.”
This report came as a result of an investigation into alleged major fraud concerning the Danny Sullivan Group, which has since had ties with the project cut.
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