Probe into Compass UN corruption widens
House of Representatives provides new evidence for UN probe into catering group
Compass, the FTSE100 caterer, has been drawn further into US investigations
into alleged bribery at the United Nations.
The investigations involve Compass subsidiary Eurest Support Services, a
company that supplied UN peacekeepers and allegedly used leaked details of UN
tenders to win contracts.
The House of Representatives’ international relations committee has now
released a report providing further evidence on ESS. According to The Daily
Telegraph the report alleges that ESS worked on more than one contract with
IHC services, a firm that allegedly leaked UN tender details to other companies.
The committee report suggests that the scope of its investigation into the
matter has extended beyond a contract that ESS secured in Liberia and has called
for further investigation into Compass, ESS and IHC.
Since 2000 ESS has won over $240m (£137.1m) of UN contracts, but was
suspended as a registered UN vendor in October 2005.
Compass called in Ernst & Young and law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus
Deringer to investigate the allegations earlier this year.