Four former Southern Water executives, including ex-CEO Matthew Wright, are charged with conspiring to defraud the Environment Agency and Ofwat by manipulating the operator self-monitoring regime at wastewater works between 2012 and 2017.

The Environment Agency has formally pursued criminal proceedings and emphasizes protecting the environment by prosecuting serious offences.

Three other defendants—Massey, Gregory, and Barker—face charges for failing to comply with environmental permit conditions, and did not attend a recent hearing, underscoring the seriousness of the alleged offences.

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Court listings show the four defendants were due to be heard at Medway Magistrates’ Court in July, as reported in surrounding coverage.

A High Court ruling in June rejected Wright’s bid to throw out the summons, with judges characterizing the allegations as involving serious, high-level fraud and dishonesty.

Prosecutors allege the case centers on manipulating operator self-monitoring tests, which are meant to sample and report discharges to regulators, including scenarios where no samples are taken if flow is insufficient.

The defendants are accused of conspiring to create artificial no-flow events to misrepresent testing results.

Defendants Wright, Barker, Massey, and Gregory are named with addresses and ages in their 60s to 70s, rooted in Haslemere, Chiltington, Brandhill, and Southampton.

The Medway Magistrates’ Court will hear the case as the Environment Agency pursues fraud charges against the four individuals.

Southern Water serves more than four million customers and has not yet commented on the allegations.

The allegations claim the group arranged artificial no-flow events to avoid recording failures, potentially dodging about £45 million in penalties, with prison sentences of up to 10 years possible if convicted.