Four jailed for £6m NHS contract corruption

Four men convicted after a £6m corruption and bribery probe at health boards across Scotland have been jailed for a total of 29 years.

The group had been found guilty in April following investigations into the award of lucrative NHS contracts to an Ayrshire – based telecommunications firm.

Adam Sharoudi, 41, and Gavin Brown, 48, ran Oricom Ltd – a firm which effectively began from a garden shed before going on to secure major deals.

But, prosecutors said the contracts for the supply and maintenance of telecoms and video conferencing equipment broke rules on financial wrongdoing in the tendering process.

READ MORE: Four guilty after £6m NHS bribery probe.

The Oricom bosses had got the illegal help of Alan Hush, 68, and 60 year-old Gavin Cox.

Hush was the telecommunications manager at NHS Lothian and then NHS Scotland video conferencing manager.

Cox held the post of head of IT and infrastructure at NHS Lanarkshire.

The pair abused their powers as “public servants” to push deals through. One contract alone was worth £3.1m.

In return, Hush got £18,231 of cash bungs and gifts, Cox a total of more than £70,000.

All four men had denied the accusations during a mammoth three-month trial.

The charges spanning between 2010 and 2015 included bribery, corruption, fraud, theft as well as others under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

READ MORE: Five men to stand trial accused of £6.5m scam linked to Ayrshire firm.

One stated Sharoudi and Brown did “acquire, use and possess” a total of £5,719,244 of “criminal property” paid by NHS Lothian, NHS Grampian, NHS Lanarkshire, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde as well as NHS Ayrshire and Arran.

The group was back in the dock at the High Court in Glasgow to be sentenced by judge Lord Arthurson today.

Hush was jailed for eight years after being found guilty of nine charges.

Cox was locked up for six years for the two jurors convicted him of.

Sharoudi was also handed an eight year term having been convicted of seven charges.

Brown was jailed for seven years for a total of six.

Lord Arthurson said: “Such is the corrosive effect of corruption upon commercial and public life, individuals such as yourselves should expect to be dealt with robustly by the courts.

“The public should expect their fellow citizens should not seek to subvert public officials in their duties.

“Such officials should note that, succumbing to bribery, will result in the handing down of significant terms.

“The reach and character of the corruption and, in particular, the corrupt relationship engaged by all of you was on a grand scale.”

All four showed little emotion as they were led to the cells. Sharoudi blew a kiss towards family and friends in the packed courtroom.

Oricom was formed in 2008 by trained engineer Brown and colleague David Bailey.

They later set up at offices in Irvine in Ayrshire. Sharoudi went on to join the team also as a director.

Oricom took on more staff and began to build a reputation in the telecoms industry.

This eventually led Oricom getting a number of big health board contracts.

But, in 2015, its offices were raided – including by investigators from NHS Scotland Counter Fraud Services – following concerns into how the deals were secured.

It resulted in the Oricom directors as well as Hush and Cox being arrested and charged.

Bailey was also prosecuted, but charges were dropped against him early in the trial.

The four accused all gave evidence in the case which sat for 65 days - testimony described by the judge today as “self serving, arrogant and mendacious”.

Hush, of Leith, Edinburgh, was first. He told jurors he initially became aware of Oricom around 2010.

Married Hush ended up friends with Sharoudi, but denied there was any intimate relationship.

The trial heard of numerous text messages between the men through the years.

These included Hush referring to Sharoudi as "hunk" and him being called him "stud" in return. Hush also declared his love for the Oricom director.

He denied being dependent on Sharoudi for cash.

But, Hush was said to have complained at one stage: “I am keen to get some commission under my belt."

His KC Keith Stewart put to him during the trial: “If it is suggested any reference to commission was you talking about earning money from Oricom in exchange for contracts, what would you say?”

Hush: “That was not the case at all.”

He claimed any payments he ever received had been money from his now late father.

But, it was later suggested Hush had used the firm as the “Bank of Oricom” for his help in getting them business including a £750,000 contract with NHS Lothian.

The handouts were said to include train tickets, such as on the Eurostar, stays at the Troy and Re Hotels in London, a near £2,000 laptop, an iPad, meals as well as concert tickets to see Paul Simon, Rufus Wainwright and Patti Smith.

In cross examination, prosecutor David Nicolson KC put to Hush at one stage: “At NHS Lothian, Alan Hush was the kingpin in the telecoms department.

“You were the 'big cheese', 'the big boss'. The telecoms department was your fiefdom.

“Alan Hush played by the Alan Hush rules. Alan Hush made up the rules and did what he liked.”

He replied: “Alan Hush performed to the best of his abilities.”

Hush was said to have “ferreted about” in a “deception” to obtain false “dodgy” quotes to help Oricom get the lucrative business.

Denying any wrongdoing, Hush insisted: “I have stepped into the witness box and told the truth.”

Sharoudi, of Motherwell, Lanarkshire, meantime told the court Hush repaid for anything Oricom had purchased for him.

He said: “Alan was very cost conscious. He paid back every single thing that was bought.”

He refuted claims there was anything intimate between them adding the NHS official could be guilty of “pushing a joke too far”.

In his evidence, Cox, of Cathcart, Glasgow, denied being “bribed” by Oricom and that any contract with NHS Lanarkshire was won “fair and square”.

He was accused of giving Oricom the “heads up” with information to give them a “commercial advantage” to secure business.

It was suggested it was “not a level playing field” for other bidders.

The court heard of an excited message exchange after the firm learned they were likely to be awarded one contract.

Cox's “rewards” had been said to include hospitality at the Scottish Grand National at Ayr, a night at the Loch Green Hotel in Troon and a slap-up meal at Elliots in Prestwick.

Brown was also a guest at Cox's surprise 50th birthday party.

The NHS official told the trial: “The things I got from Oricom I paid for fully.”

Jurors heard he also got thousands of pounds worth of Barrhead Travel holiday vouchers which allowed him to go on trips to New York and Lanzarote.

But, Cox said he believed they were gifts to his wife – a newspaper advertising manager – from Brown’s partner who she had become friends with.

Prosecutors stated this was “a remarkable coincidence”.

Cox also denied ever getting a series of cash handouts from Oricom.

He told the trial he was instead given an inheritance - a holdall full of cash – following the passing of his father.

He returned from Northern Ireland and stuck it in his loft back home in Scotland.

Cox claimed it was only later he realised how much was there – a total of £79,300.

It was around 2012 or 2013 Cox claimed him and his wife agreed to “invest” it in an extension for the home they had moved into in Newton Mearns. East Renfrewshire.

Brown, of Prestwick, Ayrshire, said he was happy at the work Oricom provided for the health boards over the years.

He added: “We did deliver a service. If they phoned at 3am, we would fix whatever they were on about. We had a good reputation. We worked really, really hard.”

Brown also knew another NHS Lanarkshire telecoms official called Alexander “Sandy” Stewart.

Among the charges was one that Oricom also effectively bribed him to secure work including a near £700,000 deal.

Stewart has since passed away.

Prosecutors further said smaller “inducements” were given to an IT official who worked at both NHS Lanarkshire and Greater Glasgow and Clyde health boards as well as a woman with NHS Ayrshire and Arran.

The court heard today how all four maintained their innocence.

Hush’s lawyer Keith Stewart said the jury had concluded there was a “corrupt relationship” between Hush and Oricom carried out in “plain sight” and based on “budgets hotels and discounted rail fares”.

Gordon Martin, defending Cox, said he was “ashamed at the findings of guilt” as he had been “a public servant for 31 years and rightfully proud of that service”.

Sharoudi’s defence KC Brian McConnachie told the hearing the NHS work carried out by Oricom was “necessary” and it was not a “situation of job creation” for money.

He said Sharoudi had overcome a number of issues growing up to gain a first class honours degree in maths and philosophy before helping build Oricom.

Tony Graham KC, defending Brown, said he was someone who had “worked every day since he left school” providing “employment for many others over many years”.

Sharoudi and Brown have also been banned from being a company director for the next 10 years.

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