The NCA investigation concerns PPE Medpro, a company that secured more than 200 200 million in government procurement near the start of the pandemic without a public tender. On Wednesday, the agency surveyed several company-related properties in the Isle of Man and London. They included the Isle of Man office building where PPE Medpro is registered and the mansion where Lady Mone lives with her husband, businessman Douglas Barrowman. The Isle of Man Police Department confirmed that search warrants were issued at four addresses on the island on Wednesday “in support of an ongoing NCA investigation”. There were no arrests. More than a dozen law enforcement officers appear to have been unexpectedly found in the Knox House building in the island’s capital, Douglas, where Isle of Man PPE Medpro is registered. A witness described that the building was guarded by officers both at the front and at the back. They reportedly seized documents, computers, telephones and other electronic devices from the building. Michelle Mone and Douglas Barrowman at a charity dinner in 2019. Photo: David M Benett / Getty Images A Wardour Street address in central London, the UK-based office of PPE Medpro, which was awarded two 3 203m worth of government contracts, was also investigated. A staff member at the building told the Guardian: “It’s a ‘no comment’ everywhere.” PPE Medpro’s lawyers declined to comment. There is no evidence that the NCA investigation is related to issues that have previously been the subject of public controversy. However, the investigation is likely to raise questions about the broader E 12 billion PPE contract awarded by the government during the pandemic under emergency rules that bypassed standard competitive bidding procedures. It will also refocus on both PPE Medpro and the process through which the company secured its government contracts. It has been the focus of much controversy in recent months involving Mone and other senior Tories, including Michael Gove, Theodore Agnew and James Bethell. The company was one of 51 companies processed through a “VIP lane” run by the government to quickly track companies nominated by politically affiliated individuals. The Guardian has previously reported that Mone approached Gove, Lord Agnew and Lord Bethell on behalf of PPE Medpro. All were then ministers involved in pandemic supplies. Mone seems to have played a key role in the entry of PPE Medpro into the “high priority” VIP lane by Agnew in May 2020. In January, the Guardian reported that leaked files appeared to indicate that Mone and Barrowman were secretly involved in the PPE Medpro operation. At the time, Mone’s lawyers replied that the Guardian’s findings were “based entirely on assumptions and not on accuracy”. House of Lords Standards Commissioner Martin Jelley then launched an ongoing investigation into whether Mone’s ties to the company violated members’ rules. He has denied any wrongdoing. Responding to previous stories, Mone’s lawyers said that any proposal for an association or collusion between the Tory peer and PPE Medpro would be “inaccurate” and that he did not participate in the operation. “Baroness Mone is not an investor, director or shareholder in any way affiliated with PPE Medpro. It has never had any role or function in PPE Medpro, nor in the process by which contracts were awarded to PPE Medpro. “ Mone’s lawyers said that after taking the “simple, lonely and short step” to refer PPE Medpro to the government, it did nothing further with the company. Baruman’s lawyers similarly removed him from the company, but did not comment on whether he benefited financially from the company. It is not known whether PPE Medpro-related real estate investigations are part of a wider NCA investigation into a possible PPP fraud scam during the pandemic. The NCA said in a statement: “The NCA does not regularly confirm or deny the existence of investigations or the names of those who may or may not be under investigation.” PPE Medpro’s first public contract worth, 80.85 million for the supply of face masks was awarded by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (DHSC) at the end of May 2020. The second, a £ 122 million contract for the supply of 25 million sterile surgical gowns, was commissioned in June 2020, but was the subject of a major contractual dispute. The government has rejected PPE Medpro gowns following audits in the UK and said it is seeking to recover its money through a dispute resolution process. PPE Medpro claimed that it had complied with the terms of its clothing contract and was entitled to retain the money paid.
