UK authorities on Wednesday arrested three individuals in connection with a multi-million-pound bribery probe tied to the construction of a Microsoft datacenter in the Netherlands.
The arrests came after more than 70 investigators from Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) raided five properties across London, Kent, Surrey, and Somerset. Meanwhile, Monaco authorities – with help from the SFO – searched a suspect’s residence in the principality. The investigation is supported by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA).
Investigators suspect individuals at UK-based civil engineering firm Blu-3 of paying more than £3 million ($3.98 million) in bribes to former associates of construction company Mace Group, related to the construction of a Microsoft datacenter in The Netherlands. The SFO’s announcement of the investigation and arrests did not name the suspects nor offer more details on the alleged scheme.
“Paying bribes to do business undermines our financial markets, the reputation of British companies and the rule of law and will not be tolerated,” SFO Director Nick Ephgrave said in a statement. “Today’s action is a reminder that we will take rapid and robust action to tackle suspected bribery and corruption wherever it appears – at home and overseas.”
Based in Kent, Blu-3 is a civil engineering firm specializing in, among other things, datacenter infrastructure. Mace Group, meanwhile, is an international construction firm based in London. Both companies were contracted to work on Microsoft’s Dutch datacenter located near Middenmeer.
“Mace has a zero tolerance approach to breaches of our code of ethics, and takes any allegations of bribery extremely seriously,” a Mace Group spokesperson said in a statement to The Register. “We are committed to fully supporting the Serious Fraud Office in investigating allegations against any former associates of the group.”
The Register also reached out to Blu-3 and Microsoft for comment, but had not heard back at the time of publication. However, in a statement provided to the Telegraph, Blu-3 said it was “currently supporting an external SFO investigation and is fully cooperating with the agency. We take matters of this nature extremely seriously and are committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and ethical conduct across all of our operations.” ®
