Local Supplier Bribes Ikea Managers With £1.3million

Source: ethisphereblog.com

A British businessman and two Ikea managers pleaded guilty on Sept. 7 to charges dealing with bribery. Adam David Hauxwell-Smith, owner of Godfrey and Warner Ltd, a company that sold items such as potpourri, candles and picture frames to Ikea, admitted to giving £648,000 to John Brown, a purchaser for Ikea, and £243,437 to Paul Hoult, a retail section sales leaders for the company.

The charges brought against Hauxwell-Smith and his co-defendants included conspiracy to defraud, corruption and witness intimidation.

Hauxwell-Smith paid the bribes in order for Ikea managers to overlook a company rule, which states that Ikea will not accept over 40 percent of the turnover of a single supplier. The judge presiding over the case warned the three defendants to expect jail time.

Three other defendants, one of which was Hauxwell-Smith’s wife, were named by the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office, however the SFO announced that they would not be pursuing charges against them at this time.

Read the story as presented in The Sun Online.

Commentary: It’s interesting to note that the press release issued by the Serious Fraud Office mentions that this case was brought up by an internal investigation on behalf of Ikea, not by an outside source or whistle-blower leaking information about the bribes to the media. Bravo, Ikea! Bringing the issue to light in this manner saves the company from dealing with negative publicity and other difficulties down the line.