Wessex chief denies bribery allegations
Colin Skellett, chairman and chief executive of Wessex Water, formerly an Enron subsidiary, has denied taking a £1m bribe when the company was sold to Malaysian group YTL.
Link: Ex-Enron subidiary chief arrested
Skellet was released on bail last night after fraud officers arrested him yesterday.
He told the BBC he was amazed at the arrest and said the allegations had no foundation whatsoever.
This was backed up by a company statement by Wessex Water which said: ‘no payment, nor promise of payment, was made to him (Skellet) during the negotiations of the sale.’
It added: ‘Neither he nor any other Wessex Water directors were involved in the decision to sell to YTL.’
According to Wessex Water, Skellet put down the incident to confusion over a subsequent agreement with YTL, which explains the financial transaction for retaining his services over the next five years.
A copy of the agreement has been given to the policy, and Wessex Water said it hoped Skellett would be back in the office shortly.