A senior civil servant with the Ministry of Defenc

A senior civil servant with the Ministry of Defence took illegal
backhanders totalling one and a half million pounds in return
for placing lucrative arms contracts with three foreign companies,
a court heard today Tuesday.

Gordon Foxley, 69, the former director of arms procurement
at the MoD channelled corrupt commission payments through
secret Swiss bank accounts, it was alleged.

The jury at Snaresbrook Crown Court heard he set up three
front companies in Geneva through which the bribes were paid.

Mr Victor Temple, QC, prosecuting, said that Foxley took
five per cent commission for placing placing a series of MoD
contracts for fuses and ammunition with Fratelli Borletti of
Milan; GeBruder Junghans, of Schramberg, Germany, and A.

S.

Raufoss of Gjovik, Norway.

Mr Temple told the jury: ‘Let us not mince words and put it
more colloquially: this defendant agreed to take a series of
substantial backhanders and in doing so he took dishonest
advantage of his position, breaching the trust bestowed upon
him by his employers at the Ministry of Defence.

‘
He said that Foxley, now retired, of Harpsden House, Gillots
Lane, Henley-on-Thames, took bribes between 1979 and 1984
when the alleged corruption came to light.

Mr Temple said Foxley set up three Geneva-based companies
‘Interep,’ ‘Scientifik’ and ‘Confreres.

‘
He said: ‘In effect, the defendant was those three companies.

They were identities behind which he could hide and hopefully
not be publicly associated with them.

‘It was absolutely essential that this defendant, for his
purposes, distanced himself from the payments, corrupt and
dishonest as they were.

‘
Mr Temple said it was ‘far too dangerous’ for backhanders
to be paid directly into Foxley’s bank account in England.

He added: ‘He had to have a buffer where he could have a secret
account, where his secret money could be paid in secret conditions
in Switzerland.

‘
Mr Temple told the jury that Foxley entered into ‘corrupt
arrangements’ with each of the three arms companies.

Mr Temple added: ‘The defendant’s corrupt activities gave
rise to a total payment to his companies of something in the
order of pnds stlg 1.

5m.

‘ (one and a half million pounds sterling).

Foxley denies 12 charges of corruption and the trial
continues.

ENDS
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