Ram has denied 12 charges of making corrupt payments to the two men.
Hartshorn, former deputy development director in the property services department, has pleaded not guilty to five allegations of receiving the payments.
Philip Shears QC, prosecuting, said over a period of time Ram sold property to Focus for just under £2m and during his deals made a substantial profit.
Also over this period, he said, Ram made cash payments of up to £4,000 a time into the accounts of Hartshorn and Hinson, a member of his team.
"Focus housing association was good business for him especially at a time when the property market was in recession. The reality here is that he corruptly kept these men sweet, paying them money when he shouldn't."
Shears said an independent valuation indicated open market prices were uniformly lower than the price Focus paid Ram for them.
He said Ram had bought cars from both the Hartshorn and Hinson families, and had purchased Hinson's house for £125,000, a few months later selling it at a loss for £89,000.
In 1993, he said, the amount of deals Ram was involved in with Hartshorn and Hinson came to the notice of their superiors and they received a memorandum instructing them not to acquire property through Ram or his associates. An investigation into the dealings of Ram, Hartshorn and Hinson began in 1995.
A National Audit Office report into how the Housing Corporation regulated Focus in the wake of the fraud allegations will be published after the trial, which continues.
Source
Housing Today
No comments yet