The U.K. Serious Fraud Office confirmed this week that it has launched an investigation into Sweett Group, a British property management, construction and surveying company, relating to allegations of bribery and corruption.

On July 14, the SFO confirmed in a two-sentence statement that the director has opened an investigation into Sweett Group “in relation to its activities in the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere.”

SFO launched the investigation after allegations surfaced that a former Sweett Group employee allegedly offered to award a design contract to architecture firm HLW International for a hospital being built in Morocco, if the firm agreed to pay a bribe to a United Arab Emirates official, who was funding the project.

In a prepared statement, Sweett Group said it notified the SFO last year about the alleged wrongdoing, which first came to light in the Wall Street Journal. “Evidence came to light that suggests that material instances of deception may have been perpetrated by a former employee or employees during the period 2009-2011,” the company stated.

According to the company, the former employee operated from an office in Dubai under contract with Cyril Sweett International (CSI), a company registered in Cyprus and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sweett Group.

Sweett Group said it initiated independent investigations of the allegation and has been keeping the SFO regularly informed as to the progress of those investigations. The company added that it continues to cooperate fully with the SFO on this matter.

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