The Government contractor G4S has agreed to pay £108.9m to settle the overcharging of offender monitoring raised last year by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). The settlement is for Government claims about the contractor’s electronic monitoring (EM) services provided by the firm’s arm G4S Care & Justice Services (UK) in England and Wales between 2005 and 2013.
The agreement also concludes matters relating to two facilities management contracts.
This agreement provides for a refund to the MoJ of £96.4m (excluding VAT) and a reimbursement of costs totalling £12.5m. G4S adds that it incurred external investigation and advisory costs of £5m.
The total settlement amount is £108.9m (excluding VAT) and we expect this to comprise a cash payment of £75.9m and credits for services previously provided of £33m.
The multi-national says that its corporate renewal in the UK business forms part of the group-wide restructuring and transformation plans outlined in November 2013 and is not anticipated to give rise to significant extra costs.
Ashley Almanza, G4S Group Chief Executive said: “The conclusion of the Cabinet Office and MoJ reviews and the agreement of a settlement with the MoJ are important milestones for the Group. The way in which the EM contract was billed was not consistent with the contract or the Group’s values and we have apologised to the MoJ and the Government. We have repaid all amounts overbilled and have implemented significant changes to strengthen contract management and controls and to ensure our business is always conducted in a manner which is consistent with our group values. We believe that the conclusion of this matter, together with the actions we are developing on corporate renewal, will enable us to maintain our position as a strategic supplier to Government.”
