In Greece it is mainly known as the “starter”, in Britain it is referred to as “bribery”, “sabotage” and “offenses”. Whatever the case, the essence remains the same and it seems that it does not even escape its city Liverpoolin the northwest England.

City police, known as police of MERSESESIDEit was clear in its announcement this morning. “We can confirm that 12 people were charged today (March 7, 2025) of bribery and offenses after extensive research (Operation Aloft) related to the assignment of commercial and business contracts by the Liverpool Municipal Council between 2010-2020,” he writes in a posting on Platform X. categories that burden them.

The former mayor had been accused again 5 years ago

The ages of those involved as they cover a wide range, from 29 to 77 years. But people who come to the forefront are the former mayor of the city for nearly 10 years, Joe Andersonbut also the local government politician, Derek Hatton.

Both of them were first arrested in 2020 as part of a research on building contracts, and are still accused of bribery and misconduct in relation to municipal contracts.

The 67 -year -old veteran workers’ politician Anderson performed mayor of the city from 2012 to 2021, and it is recalled that after his arrest in 2020 he had said that “he will continue to fight to prove that he is innocent in any criminal act”. After the incident, he was removed from the Labor Party, and then resigned from the post of mayor.

Indeed, in 2021, the central government took control of the main functions of the municipality, which were again granted to the municipal authority just last year.

The reactions

A police investigation, which focused on construction companies, unveiled the magnitude of corruption in Liverpool’s local government. For example, even Joe Anderson’s son, David, is also accused of complicity in committing violations in public service.

A Liverpool Municipality spokesman “thought it was not appropriate to comment on this stage of the case”, while the Crown Attorney General Robin Wilel stressed the need to protect the proceedings for a fair trial. All 12 are expected to appear in Preston’s court on March 28th.