A probe into a Renfrewshire medical firm used for Glasgow Hydro events has been passed to prosecutors after seven years.
Ambulance Scotland once had the Hydro contract. They lost it after some arrests back in 2018. The arrests involved alleged money laundering and tax offenses.
HMRC has criminal investigation powers. They previously raided the firm’s headquarters in Renfrewshire, leading to two arrests.
A report on the investigation has been submitted to the procurator fiscal. They will consider alleged offenses spanning nine years and involving four people.
An official spoke for the Crown Office, confirming the Procurator Fiscal received their report. It concerns two men and two women with offenses allegedly committed between 2009 and 2018. The case remains active and is under consideration by officials.
Ambulance Scotland provided services at events like Beyonce and Jay Z’s performance at Hampden, the TRNSMT festival, and even provided ambulances for the NHS. The company started in 2013, and only four years later, they won Hydro contracts, resulting in about forty medical workers becoming jobless.
However, safety worries soon emerged. Mock job ads suggested they used underqualified staff. Ambulance Scotland’s director, Paul Kenny, denied the accusations and said they faced a smear campaign. Leaflets advertising “Shambulance Scotland” jobs were sent to ambulance stations and officials.
A former paramedic, struck off after a death, worked there. Kenny defended hiring her as a first aider. Hydro chiefs at the time expressed confidence in Ambulance Scotland and its medical service, noting the venue is one of the world’s busiest.
The HMRC raid came afterward, one year later. In 2019, Ambulance Scotland sold its assets to Amvale Medical Transport Limited. This English firm made a “large investment,” taking on the firm’s staff, fleet of vehicles, medical equipment, and center. Amvale ran its business under a new name.
Amvale handled the Hydro and Hampden Park contracts and covered TRNSMT. They called themselves Scotland’s largest provider, offering event medical services and training. Ambulance Scotland dissolved last year, in June of 2023 and last filed accounts in 2018.
An HMRC spokesperson spoke of the warrants, stating, “Six warrants were executed” in Renfrewshire back in June 2018. A man and a woman, both 47 years old, were arrested on suspicion of tax and money offenses.
“A report has been submitted,” the spokesman continued. It went to the Procurator Fiscal.