Three men were today (22 June) jailed for their involvement in a scam involving the extortion of around GBP9m (US$14m) from UK retailer Sainsbury’s.
John Maylam, who was head buyer for Sainsbury’s, was reported to have led a life of “outrageous extravagance” by taking bribes from supplier Greenvale in return for lucrative contracts with the retailer, according to The Independent.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The surplus was paid into a bank account that was said to have been spent on activities such as luxury holidays, nights at top hotels including Claridge’s and a GBP94,000 Aston Martin. Maylam was understood to have incurred expenses of GBP20,000 per month.
A judgement from Croydon Crown Court today read that Maylem, 45, from Kent, had pleaded guilty to receiving corrupt payments of GBP3.2m-GBP4.9m and gifts from directors of Greenvale, Andrew Behagg and David Baxter. January 2006 and January 2008.
“The supplier of more than 45% of the supermarket potatoes funded the bribes by overcharging Sainsbury’s by GBP8.7m for its potatoes in a (GBP40m) deal authorised by Maylam,” the court judgement read.
Maylam was jailed for four years, while Behagg was convicted of corruption by authorising payments to Maylam and sentenced to three years.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataFormer Greenvale director David Baxter pleaded guilty to corruption and acquiring criminal property and was jailed for 30 months.
A spokesperson for Sainsbury’s said: “This was an unacceptable and calculated crime against Sainsbury’s and we are pleased that justice has been done. Today’s sentencing sends a very clear message to anyone that behaves in this way that there are consequences to their actions.
“We demand the highest standards of all our colleagues and suppliers and Sainsbury’s code of conduct clearly details how we expect them to behave, and is reinforced by our confidential whistle blowing line.”
John Burbidge-King, CEO of Interchange, a company which helps companies to mitigate bribery and corruption risk, believes the case illustrates that bribery is “very much taking place” within some companies in the UK and that they may be “oblivious” to it.
“Bribery is a major business and reputational risk and there is increasing need for transparency in the supply chain. This is another bribery case in the retail sector; the recent Wal-Mart Stores case in Mexico has seriously dented its growth strategy.
“The increasing trend towards certification and supply chain assurance, such as the BS10500 launched earlier this year, will become necessary to give the boards of companies, procurement agencies, both local and central government, the necessary comfort that processes are in place to mitigate such damaging risk out of the supply chain.”
