Deal for NHS masks collapses as medical company sues its supplier in US

Department for health and social care contract worth £45m at centre of California lawsuit

The UK relied on a range of contractors to supply the nation with face masks in the early days of the pandemic (REUTERS)

A UK company that had been due to deliver millions of masks to the government has claimed it was defrauded by an offshore firm based in the British Virgin Islands after the protective equipment failed to materialise.

Hertfordshire-based Purple Surgical was handed a contract to provide £45m of medical-grade face masks to the government in April - with the delivery due to be made the following month during the height of the UK’s first spike in coronavirus cases.

However a lawsuit filed by the firm claims it was defrauded by its own supplier Win Billion Investment Group, a firm who had offered to provide the protective equipment in a deal worth $27m.

The two firms entered into an agreement in March, however papers submitted to the California court system allege that while the cash was handed over, the masks were never delivered to Birmingham City Airport as agreed.

The documents claim that Win Billion had confirmed it would be able to fulfil the order because of its relationship with a separate firm, which it said was an official distributor of the 3M-brand products the government had requested.

But a spokesperson for 3M, one of the world’s leading face mask producers, said no firms mentioned in the litigation “have a relationship with 3M or are authorised distributors of 3M products”.

Repeated emails from the UK firm’s CEO Robert Sharpe to Ric Wu, one of the defendants in the case who represented Win Billion, noted delays and excuses provided by the company even after the government’s deadline had been breached.

“You said we would receive the delivery today or tomorrow” Mr Sharpe wrote on 9 June. “And you are now saying the earliest we will receive is another 7 days time. Why should I believe this? Every day is a new delay and a new excuse.”

In another exchange identifying the UK government as his most valuable customer, the CEO said Mr Wu had “failed to provide any documentation from 3M or the distributors that would have given me some assurance that this deal was real”.

Describing references to the firm in relation to the deal as “entirely fraudulent”, a 3M spokeswoman said the UK government had been in contact to ask whether the deal was likely to be legitimate.

“The answer was no, as the large quantities don’t match the location and supply and distribution of 3M’s manufacturing and product types” she said, adding “3M has not received any funds related to this matter”.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We have been working tirelessly to deliver PPE to protect our health and social care staff throughout the pandemic, and proper due diligence is carried out for all government contracts and we take these checks extremely seriously.

“We cannot comment directly on individual allegations of fraud, but we take all allegations seriously and explore every available option to bring those who commit fraud to account.”

The Independent has contacted Purple Surgical and Ric Wu for comment.