A case brought against local business group Deryck A. Gibson Limited by the English bridge-making firm of Mabey & Johnson has been settled.

The case was dismissed by the court in February, according to court documents perused by The Gleaner.

In the case, former sales manager for Mabey & Johnson, Jonathan Danos, claimed Mabey was guilty of misconduct in its sales to Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and Panama. According to him, the firm was paying large secret commissions to middlemen in artificial portions in a bid to circumvent anti-bribery laws.

In one allegation, Danos claimed that the he was ordered by Mabey to divide an eight and a half per cent commission to Gibson Limited in two parts - one of five per cent and another for three and a half per cent for local services done by Gibson Limited.

Gibson Limited did contracts for Mabey & Johnson, a firm which the Jamaican Government had struck a near £23-million loan agreement with to rehabilitate 45 bridges under the Jamaica Priority Rural Bridge Programme.

No corruption

But Deryck A. Gibson claims there was no corruption on his company's part.

"There was a court case and it's been going on for two years. The matter has been settled and there is nothing untoward about myself and the other defendants. It clearly states that we are not culpable in any way," said Gibson.

According to Gibson, continued allegations of corruption against Mabey & Johnson in other countries forced him to end his relationship with the company in 2006 after 20 years. The company brought a suit against him, he said, in an effort not to pay the commission due to him.

"I sacrificed a lot of my commission, I didn't want to go to court, I didn't need that sort of fight, I never needed that sort of publicity," Gibson said.

"They made the suit and then they called for a settlement," he said.

The company has settled with him for £75,000.