Morgan Stanley JV Said to Review Contracts in Barratt Probe
(Bloomberg) -- A venture between Barratt Developments Plc and a real estate fund managed by Morgan Stanley is reviewing contracts for a 770-home project in east London amid a fraud probe at the homebuilder, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The venture is exploring whether any Barratt employees were paid bribes to award subcontracts to some suppliers, the person said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. The audit is part of an ongoing investigation by the homebuilder into potential misconduct in the awarding of supply contracts in London, another person said. The wider probe was referred to the police, and led to the arrests of two members of staff in October.
It would be inappropriate to comment while the Metropolitan Police and internal investigations are ongoing, a spokesman for Coalville, England-based Barratt said by email. A spokesman for Morgan Stanley declined to comment.
The venture was formed in 2013 to build a 275 million pound ($337 million) housing project on the River Thames in London's Greenwich district. Barratt provided construction, development, accounting and sales services to the venture, according to a July 2013 statement.
Barratt suspended Alastair Baird, its regional managing director for London, in October, when he and another former member of staff were arrested. The company subsequently suspended at least three more employees within its London business, Bloomberg News reported in January.
In total four people have been arrested and let out on bail until April as part of an investigation into a public limited company, a police spokesman said by email in January. All four arrests are connected to the Barratt case, a person familiar with the matter said at the time. The police didn't say whether the detentions involved employees at the homebuilder.
Since the initial findings of Barratt's internal investigation, the company has introduced new procurement controls, according to a statement in October. The company's London business has different buying practices from the wider group.
--With assistance from Patrick Gower
To contact the reporter on this story: Jack Sidders in London at jsidders@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Neil Callanan at ncallanan@bloomberg.net, Ross Larsen, Cindy Roberts
-
Navigating Energy Crossroads: S Jaishankar's Call For Diversified Supply Chains At G20 Ministerial Meeting
As geopolitical fault lines continue to test maritime trade routes and commodity flows, Jaishankar's message remains pertinent: true economic resilience requires open markets, protected transit lines, and a genuine commitment to multilateral cooperation rather than coercion.
-
Indians Are Travelling, But Not Every Journey Is A Holiday | The Week In Whys
Pilgrims, patients and working women are the real travellers, and the system hasn't quite caught up with them.
-
Getting To Work Costs Women More | The Reason Why
It is not just about women paying more than men. It is about women paying much more in cities than in villages.
-
AI Bias In Investing Cannot Be Eliminated, But It Can Be Governed
Framing is a particularly important example as identical financial information presented in terms of gains rather than losses can lead an LLM to reach a different assessment.
-
Joining The Dots | Dark Skies, Steady Diya: Why Hope Holds This Diwali
With war, a weak rupee and foreign outflows weighing on sentiment, policymakers at the NDTV World Summit and market veterans at NDTV Profit Ignite: Diwali Edition offered the same advice: stay invested and filter out the noise.
-
The Curious Case of Equitas Small Finance Bank And A CEO Who Quit For Stock
PN Vasudevan believes persistent investor concerns over a perceived conflict of interest had become a governance overhang on Equitas Small Finance Bank's stock, even as the lender improved profitability and asset quality.
-
Talking Points This Week: AI Cash Burn, A Tiger Comeback And An India That Still Finds Its Own Path
India is not immune to higher oil or tighter global liquidity, yet its earnings base is broader, its domestic policy levers are still available.
-
Foreign Investors Own Half Of HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank. An LTCG Cut Could Matter Most Here
Foreign portfolio investors have US$115 billion parked in HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank. If the government cuts long-term capital gains tax, Jefferies says returning foreign money could land here first.
-
'Never Seen This Level Of Negativity': Sandeep Tandon Says The Next Rally May Be Closer Than You Think
Veteran investor Sandeep Tandon says foreign selling is easing, large-caps are due a comeback and mid-caps are crowded, while he turns positive on gold, power and pharma this Diwali.
