The boss of a worker agency allegedly paid bribes to construction site managers, including those involved in the high-profile Battersea Power Station redevelopment, in exchange for subcontracting his staff, a court heard on Wednesday.
Arben Hysa, owner of Tony Demolition Workers Ltd, is accused of funnelling regular payments to three managers from Keltbray Ltd to secure preferential treatment for his agency. Prosecutor Paul Ozin KC, representing the Crown, detailed the allegations during the opening of the £600,000 bribery trial at Southwark Crown Court.
Ozin explained that the kickbacks gave Hysa a “valuable benefit” by ensuring his workers were consistently chosen over those of competing agencies. “To put it in everyday terms, he was not giving them something for nothing,” Ozin remarked, emphasising the illicit nature of the payments.
The prosecution asserts that Hysa’s financial dealings ensured his agency’s dominance in providing labour for Keltbray’s projects, with invoices exceeding £15 million over the course of a decade.
While the defence does not contest the existence of these payments, the jury must now determine whether they were made and received with the intent of bribery. “The sums of money were paid and received for the criminal purpose of bribery,” Ozin argued.
Hysa allegedly directed payments to Simon Lacey, Michael McCarthy, and John Burke, all site managers at Keltbray. Burke’s partner, solicitor Cathrin Williams, is also on trial for allegedly facilitating money laundering by allowing bribe money to be deposited into her bank account.
Upon their arrest in 2018, Lacey and McCarthy offered differing explanations for the payments during police interviews. Ozin described their defences as ranging from admissions of bribery to “absurd and incoherent explanations.”
Williams, in her police interview, purportedly admitted that the payments were “kickbacks” from Hysa to Burke. The prosecution argues that these payments, regardless of the explanations provided, were secretive and criminal.
Hysa, 56, faces six counts of bribery spanning from December 2012 to June 2018. Lacey, 52; McCarthy, 64; and Burke, 55, each face two counts of accepting bribes. Williams, 48, is charged with one count of money laundering. All defendants have denied the charges.
The trial continues as the jury evaluates the evidence and testimonies provided.
This latest scandal follows just weeks after Keltbray saw its fine increased for its part in a bid rigging scandal in which 10 NFDC member companies were fined £60 million.
