Taxi
boss suspended following 大象传媒 Money Programme expos茅
The
managing director of a multi million pound taxi business has been
suspended following a 大象传媒 TWO investigation into how contracts were
awarded corruptly.
Tony
Reeve, managing director of Medigen plc, has been suspended after
the 大象传媒's Money Programme report on Illegal Taxis (shown on 13 November)
exposed how bribes were paid to secure lucrative Medigen contracts
and how the contract tendering process has been corrupted by Mr
Reeve.
Tesco
and Asda confirmed that they have been told by Medigen that the
managing director has been suspended from his duties pending a full
internal investigation by Medigen's management team.
The
supermarkets have been told that Mr Reeve has been presented with
a list of questions by Medigen relating to the allegations of corruption.
He now has five days to give a satisfactory response.
The
supermarkets are carrying out their own investigations into the
corruption allegations. Tesco has confirmed it has suspended four
Medigen contracts as a result of the 大象传媒's investigation.
Medigen
runs a network of freephone lines at every major supermarket chain
in the country and has a virtual monopoly on these taxi freephone
lines.
Acting
as agents for all the supermarket chains, Medigen puts the freephone
lines out to tender and invites local minicab firms to submit bids
for the contracts.
But
a six month investigation by The Money Programme found Mr Reeve
was operating a scam behind Medigen's official tendering process.
Minicab
firms which had submitted a legitimate tender bid for a Medigen
contract were later told they could secure the contract if they
paid a bribe.
If
the minicab firm agreed to the corrupt deal, a meeting with Mr Reeve
was arranged through a middleman, at which Mr Reeve would show the
cab firm all the rival bids and invite them to submit a new tender
form, offering two hundred pounds more than the highest bidder.
The firm paying the bribe would then win the contract.
The
Money Programme worked with two Medigen contractors-turned-whistleblowers
who decided to expose Mr Reeve's corruption.
Zigy
Hussain, a former partner at Metro Cars in Halifax, paid six thousand
pounds in bribes to win four Medigen contracts at local Tesco and
Asda stores.
Mr
Hussain told the 大象传媒: "At first I was a bit dubious thinking
no, it can't happen. But I did go along with it, obviously wanting
the contract, wanting more work.
"It
started off at the beginning as a thousand pounds which didn't seem
too bad to get some work but later on it went astronomical, through
the roof."
Mr
Hussain told the 大象传媒 he once handed over a bribe of ten thousand
pounds to secure one Medigen contract at a supermarket in Halifax.
Mr
Reeve denies any corruption. He told the 大象传媒 he never leaves his
office to meet clients like Mr Hussain.
However,
the programme included secret filming of Mr Reeve meeting Mr Hussain
at a hotel in Brentwood last March.
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