Four men have been found guilty in a major corruption case involving £6 million worth of NHS contracts across multiple Scottish health boards.
The investigation uncovered serious misconduct and bribery between company directors and former NHS officials, leading to one of the most significant fraud cases in recent NHS history.
The High Court in Glasgow heard that telecoms firm Oricom Ltd, founded by Gavin Brown and Adam Sharoudi, was awarded contracts for telecoms and video conferencing equipment from 2010 to 2017 through improper means.
These deals, spread across NHS Lothian, NHS Grampian, NHS Lanarkshire, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and NHS Ayrshire and Arran, were secured using confidential information leaked by former NHS employees Alan Hush and Gavin Cox.
In exchange for this information, Hush and Cox received over £88,000 in cash and luxury gifts. The charges brought against the four men included bribery, corruption, fraud, theft, and offences under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
The court found that Brown and Sharoudi controlled more than £5.7 million in criminal proceeds paid by various health boards during this period.
One contract alone was worth £3.1 million. Oricom was initially set up in 2008 by Gavin Brown and colleague David Bailey in Irvine. Bailey had charges against him dropped earlier in the trial.
Sharoudi later joined the firm and formed a personal relationship with Hush, who at the time was working as a telecommunications manager for NHS Lothian and later as video conferencing manager for NHS Scotland.
Concerns over the legitimacy of the contracts led to raids on Oricom’s offices in 2015, with NHS Scotland Counter Fraud Services among those investigating.
Evidence revealed Hush had bypassed the standard tendering process and helped Oricom by submitting fake quotes to win bids. He was also found to have accepted a range of bribes including Eurostar tickets, luxury hotel stays, electronic devices, concert tickets, and fine dining.
Sharoudi attempted to explain these gifts as repayments or family money, but the court rejected these claims. Hush was accused of treating Oricom as his personal bank in return for securing a £750,000 contract with NHS Lothian.
Cox, who was head of IT and infrastructure at NHS Lanarkshire, also denied receiving bribes, claiming instead that holiday vouchers and hospitality were gifts between friends.
However, prosecutors demonstrated that Cox received over £70,000 in cash and perks. He used part of this money to fund home improvements at his property in Newton Mearns.
Among the other questionable deals was a £700,000 contract allegedly secured through bribery involving another now-deceased NHS Lanarkshire official. Further gifts were handed to NHS staff from other health boards, including Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Ayrshire and Arran.
Following an eight-day jury deliberation after a three-month trial, Hush was convicted of nine charges, Sharoudi of seven, Brown of six, and Cox of two. All four men have been remanded in custody ahead of sentencing, scheduled for 5 June in Edinburgh.
They also face separate proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act, which could see them stripped of their unlawfully acquired assets.
