Construction group Wilson Bayly Holmes Ovcon (WBHO) on Monday “strongly” rejected any suggestion of criminal behaviour as media reports emerged over the weekend claiming extensive fraud, corruption and “illegal business operations” within the construction sector.

The South African construction industry had come under fire over the past few years as allegations of collusive behaviour and tender- or bid-rigging for the delivery of stadiums in the run-up to the FIFA 2010 World Cup came to light.

The Competition Commission was probing 65 bid-rigging cases, implicating over 70 projects with an estimated value of R29-billion.

The commission announced in February last year that it had offered a “fast-track settlement” process for companies that had been party to collusive practices.

Afrikaans publication Rapport on Sunday reported claims of “criminal conduct” and fraudulent behaviour, besides tender rigging, and named several former and current management and directors of major construction groups, including WBHO, Concor, Basil Read, Group Five, and Aveng, as being involved.

Newswire Sapa earlier on Monday also reported that the Hawks were investigating allegations of collusion by construction companies that resulted in the City of Cape Town being charged almost double the initial R2.9-billion pricetag to construct the Cape Town Stadium.

The commission would hold a public tribunal to hear the allegations of the final cost of the stadium reportedly reaching R4.3-billion.

WBHO said it would continue talks with the commission over the alleged collusive practices in the construction sector, but emphasised that the discussions involved a small number of projects.

Meanwhile, South African Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors (Safcec) executive director Webster Mfebe commented that the recent reports highlighted some of the major factors influencing the image of the industry.

“As an employers organisation, Safcec does not condone any unlawful behaviour on the part of its members and as such has adopted a code of conduct that promotes fair and credible business practices,” he said in a statement, encouraging Safcec members to cooperate with the commissions investigation.