The Spanish broker who took £ 21m of your money to set up the PPE deal

The Spanish businessman who acted as a broker to insure personal protective equipment for the NHS got a staggering £ 21 million in taxpayer money in the UK.

US court documents showed the chancellor was awaiting another 15 million pounds in public funding.

Gabriel Gonzalez Anderson, from Madrid, is recruited to assist with “Procurement, Logistics, Product Sourcing, and Quality Control” for life-saving equipment.

Court documents described him as having “done a very good job under that arrangement” – at one point he was in line for over £ 35m.

Florida-based jewelry designer Michael Saiger (pictured with Rachel Russell) created a PPE project during the Coronavirus crisis and his broker received £ 21 million in taxpayer money.

He worked for jewelry designer Michael Saiger, 31, based in Florida, who had founded a company that provided protective clothing to governments around the world earlier this year.

Saiger claimed that his previous encounters with factories in China had made him well equipped to fulfill orders. As such, UK ministers handed his company a “number of lucrative contracts” worth £ 200m to provide gloves and gowns to NHS employees.

Jewelry designer Michael Saiger founded the PPE company during the Coronavirus crisis – and his broker received £ 21m in taxpayer money.

Anderson’s job was to find manufacturers who could quickly supply millions of PPE items for the deals already agreed on for Saiger.

The Spaniard received more than $ 28 million (£ 21 million) for working two contracts from the NHS, before his boss signed three more deals in June. But their relationship later collapsed, leading to a court battle in Miami in which the burdensome amounts were revealed.

Saiger is now suing Mr. Anderson for breach of contract and fraud fraud.

Mr Anderson is accused of “failing to perform any and all of his duties” for the last three deals. After fulfilling the contract, Anderson will be eligible for another fee of $ 20 million (£ 15 million).

But court documents state that Mr. Anderson “failed or refused to take on contractual responsibilities” for Saiger – and he should not be paid a penny more. He objects to this, Mr. Anderson, the defendant, who feels entitled to the money.

The documents stated: “Mr. Anderson was not involved in the procurement, logistics, product supply and quality control of PPE equipment at the center of each of the agreements, as promised, and consequently he violated both agreements.”

His alleged departure left Saiger “scrambling” to fulfill contracts and delay delivery of PPE to frontline workers.

The dispute gave insight into how much money some companies have made to provide the NHS with protective gear.

The Department of Health and Welfare has recently posted more than £ 200 million worth of contracts with Saiger LLC. All contracts awarded to the jewelry designer have been awarded without being open to bidding by competitors thanks to an EU rule that allows for fast purchases during emergencies.

The biggest deal totaled £ 103.1 million. The three deals signed in June, which Mr. Saiger Anderson accuses of backing out, focused on the purchase of “Titan Gloves”, “Blue Seal Gloves” and “Pure Made Dresses”.

Concerns have been raised about the government’s rushed contracts for personal protective equipment. Spending a budget of £ 13.8 billion, awarding contracts to thousands of companies. Other companies that will receive large contracts include a six-week-old firm, a small luxury packaging company, and a company based in an offshore tax haven.

The deals are set to face legal challenge in British courts by activists from The Good Law Project, and the group, which claims to “ use the law to protect the interests of the public, ” accuses ministers of not giving “ adequate consideration ” to taxpayers. Money.

“We don’t understand why, as of late June, the government was still awarding direct contracts profitable enough to enable these types of profits,” a spokesman said. “The real criticism here is the huge profits the government is allowing to make.”

Before the rescue equipment was introduced to the NHS, Michael Andrew Saiger was known to be the owner and founder of the fashion accessory brand Miansai. The brand offers ‘Something Anyone Can Wear’.

The decades came as the NHS feared running out of life-saving clothing like masks and gowns.

A spokesperson for Mr. Saiger said: “Our CEO has a specialist experience spanning 15 years producing and distributing high quality goods sourced at the best value from reputed factories in Asia.

“We have an extensive network of manufacturing and distribution contacts in Asia, and we are an agile and intelligent company able to act quickly.

These traits mean that few other suppliers can match us in terms of speed, quality or value for the taxpayer, and we have used this combination to have a significant impact in the UK’s favor.

At the height of the epidemic, and at a time when the NHS needed high-quality personal protective equipment that met the required safety standards, we delivered it to Britain on time and at value.

We are extremely proud to have played our part in providing frontline workers in the UK, including nurses, doctors and hospital staff, with the millions of pieces of PPE they need to stay safe and save lives.

We did not at any time use any “mediators”. We have a small number of full-time employees, so for large projects, we bring in short-term contractors to gain additional experience and capacity, which allows us to provide what is needed.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health said: “ We have worked tirelessly to introduce PPE, having delivered more than 4.9 billion items to the front lines so far.

Nearly 32 billion items have been ordered to provide continuous supplies, which will meet the future needs of health and social care personnel.

“Due diligence is performed for all government contracts and we take these checks very seriously.”

Mr. Anderson has been contacted for comment.