A US jewellery designer paid a Spanish businessman £21m of UK taxpayers’ money to secure protective clothing for NHS staff during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new legal filing.
US court documents say Florida-based jewellery designer Michael Saiger used his “significant experience” of working with manufacturers and distributors in China to secure “a number of lucrative contracts” with the UK government to supply protective gowns and gloves to the NHS.
Mr Saiger then enlisted Spanish businessman Gabriel Gonzalez Andersson to help with the “procurement, logistics, due diligence, product sourcing and quality control” of the PPE.
Mr Andersson, who owns a company named Glezco, “did very well under this arrangement”, according to court documents, and was paid more than $28m (£21m) for the completion of two contracts.
In June of this year, Mr Saiger secured three more contracts with the UK government to supply millions of gowns and gloves.
Once paid by the DHSC, Saiger LLC would then pay Mr Andersson’s company “approximately $1,667,896.57 for ‘services performed’”.
In addition, Mr Saiger was to supply 3 million boxes of Blue Sail nitrile gloves, and would pay Mr Andersson “approximately $3,661,645.57 for ‘services performed’”.
And Mr Andersson also stood to make $16,007,521.47 for “services performed” on the supply of 10.2 million surgical gowns.
The details of the case have come to light amid a legal dispute between the two parties currently going through the court in Miami.
Mr Saiger has alleged Mr Andersson stopped working for him after those agreements were signed, which “caused business interruptions that delayed the delivery of PPE to health care providers and first responders in the United Kingdom during the Covid-19 pandemic”.
A member of staff puts on PPE at Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge
” height=”4128″ width=”5510″ srcset=”https://static.independent.co.uk/2020/11/17/18/AFP_1R05VQ-2.jpg?width=320 320w, https://static.independent.co.uk/2020/11/17/18/AFP_1R05VQ-2.jpg?width=640 640w” layout=”responsive” i-amphtml-layout=”responsive”> A member of staff puts on PPE at Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge (AFP/Getty)
According to the Good Law Project campaign group, the contracts awarded to Mr Saiger’s company for the supply of PPE totalled more than £250m.
The group, established by activist barrister Jolyon Maugham, claimed the contract was offered without a competitive tendering process and is pursuing legal action against the government.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said the government had been “working tirelessly” to deliver PPE, with more than 4.9 billion items delivered to the frontline so far.
They added: “Almost 32 billion items have been ordered to provide a continuous supply, which will meet the future needs of health and social care staff.
“Proper due diligence is carried out for all government contracts and we take these checks extremely seriously.”
A spokesperson for Mr Saiger said: “At the height of the pandemic, and at a time when the NHS was in need of high-quality PPE that met the required safety standards, we delivered for Britain, on time and at value.
“We are exceptionally proud to have played our part in providing frontline workers in the UK, including nurses, doctors and hospital staff, with the millions of pieces of PPE they need to stay safe and to save lives.
“At no time have we ever used any ‘middlemen’. We have few full-time staff so for large projects we bring in short-term contractors for additional expertise and capacity, allowing us to deliver what is needed.”
The Independent has contacted Mr Andersson for comment.
