Six people have now been sentenced for involvement in a criminal conspiracy which included bribery, money laundering and fraud centred around a housing site in Cranbrook, East Devon.

Two former employees at energy company E.ON were found to have accepted bribes in the form of cash, false invoices, references and home improvements in exchange for work relating to Cranbrook.

The wrongdoing was identified by E.ON after the employees moved on leading to a long and complex investigation. There was no wrongdoing on the part of the energy company itself.

Cranbrook was being developed from 2010 with new-build houses and E.ON was awarded a contract to provide district heating for the site

Mark Baker was appointed as E.ON’s Head of Projects and subsequently Head of Build for the project, with Matthew Heyward employed as a Quantity Surveyor, responsible for signing off works.

Mark Baker, who is married to Angela Baker, accepted bribes from individuals behind the companies Priddy Engineering Limited and RK Civil Engineering (RKC), with Heyward also receiving illegal payments.

Priddy Engineering Limited was controlled by Andrew Blunsdon who paid bribes to both Mark Baker and Heyward.

RKC was one of a group of companies controlled by Richard King. King’s partner at RKC was Timothy Patterson and bank accounts linked to the two paid a combined total in excess of £1.5m to Mark Baker and Heyward.

The bribes arrived in the form of cash, money paid in to bank accounts, the use of prestige cars, free hotel rooms, free building work and false references.

Part of Mark Baker’s role was deciding which companies should be given construction contracts at Cranbrook, and later at other locations around the UK.

Heyward played a key role in authorising the payment of contractor’s invoices, particularly at Cranbrook.

Blunsdon, King and Patterson knew Baker and Heyward to be in positions of influence when it came to the awarding and the management of contracts. They bribed them to further their own financial interests knowing they’d willingly act in a corrupt manner.

The bribes started in 2011 and continued through until the end of 2015 when E.ON discovered and reported the illegal activity.

All six pleaded guilty to fraud and bribery offences and appeared at Winchester Crown Court this week for sentencing.

Mark Baker was jailed for 46 months and disqualified from being a company director for seven years, Matthew Heyward was jailed for 30 months and disqualified from being a company director for seven years, Richard King was jailed for 29 months, Timothy Patterson was jailed for four years and disqualified from being a company director for seven years, Angela Baker was sentenced to 13 months in prison, suspended for two years and made subject of a three months 8pm to 6am curfew and Andrew Blunsdon was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years and must complete 150 hours of unpaid work.

Detective Inspector Dan Parkinson from the Devon and Cornwall Police Complex Fraud Team, said: “These individuals believed corrupt practice was widespread in the construction industry and the method by which business was done.

“Corruption costs business and society, providing benefit for just a corrupt few. Ultimately, we all pay the price.

“These corrupt practices are a parasitic blight on society.

“It is through E.ON’s initial identification of concerns and reporting this corrupt practice to Devon and Cornwall Police that enabled these convictions to be obtained.

“This was a complex and time-consuming investigation but we are happy to have worked alongside E.ON and secured convictions against six defendants who believed rules did not apply to them and they could do whatever they wanted in order to reach their desired goal.

“These practices were often referred to as favours. Favours they are not, they are simply corrupt criminal practices.”

An E.ON UK spokesperson said: “Our internal processes enabled us to identify this case and take decisive action. Reflecting our zero-tolerance approach to bribery, we reported the matter to the police and have fully supported their investigation.”