Smith & Ouzman duo found guilty in UK corruption trial

Politics and policy

The United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office secured its first conviction of a corporate body for corruptly agreeing to make illegal payments for contracts. PHOTO | FILE 

By BDAfrica.com REPORTER

In Summary

• Former chairman Christopher Smith, 71, and his son Nicholas Smith, 43, were both convicted on bribery charges.
• Sales team members Timothy Forrester, 57, and Abdirahman Omar, 38, were both acquitted in the London trial.

British security printer Smith & Ouzman Ltd and the father and son pair at its helm were found guilty Monday of corruptly agreeing to pay bribes to win contracts in Kenya and Mauritania.

Two co-accused thought to have aided in the crimes were acquitted.

Former chairman Christopher Smith, 71, was convicted at London’s Southwark Crown Court of two counts of corruptly agreeing to make payments.

His son Nicholas Smith, 43, the former sales and marketing director, was convicted of three counts of the same offence.

Timothy Forrester, 57, who once served as the firm’s international sales manager, and Abdirahman Omar, 38, a sales agent, were both acquitted.

Forrester had faced three bribery-related counts, while Omar was charged with one count of the same offence in relation to a contract in Somaliland.

The trial was a result of a Serious Fraud Office investigation into corrupt payments made to public officials for the award of business contracts to the company.

Its proceedings exposed the scandalous activities of a bribery ring that paid out nearly half a million pounds (about Sh70 million) in kickbacks in Africa.  

During the trial it emerged that payments in Kenya were made through an agent, Trevy James Oyombra, to officials in the Interim Independent Electoral Commission and the Kenya National Examination Council.

Oyombra’s bank accounts have since been frozen and a local investigation is underway.

Smith & Ouzman Ltd, a printing firm based in Eastbourne which specialises in security documents such as ballot papers and certificates, was convicted of three counts of corruptly agreeing to make payments, contrary to section 1(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906.

“This is the SFO’s first conviction of a corporate for offences involving bribery of foreign public officials,” said SFO Director David Green. “Such criminality… severely damages the UK’s commercial reputation and feeds corrupt governance in the developing world. We are very grateful to Kenyan authorities for their assistance in this case.”

The convicted father and son will be sentenced on February 12 next year.