LOCAL government inspectors have been asked to investigate after a security company was awarded six contracts by Derry City Council without the work being advertised.
Estate Services has been paid more than £550,000 by the council since 2010.
The security company was paid more than £100,000 alone for security work after the council's Skeoge depot was broken into three times in 2012
Estate Services, which describes itself as a "community-owned enterprise," aims to create a "sustainable social economy enterprise in the north-west area employing local people" according to its website.
The site also shows the firm providing security to First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness at an event in the city.
It carried out security and stewarding services at many of the key 2013 City of Culture events as well as Derry's Legenderry Maritime Festival.
From 2010 until this year, Derry City Council issued one tender each year, which was awarded to Estate Services.
For the financial year, 2014/15, the council selected three companies - including Estate Services - for its security and event management work.
The managing director of Estate Services is leading republican, Christopher 'Pinta' McKnight. Previous senior figures in the company include, William McGuinness, a brother of the deputy first minister, although the firm says he has had no involvement with the company for more than 10 years.
Estate Services lists schools, public bodies and other organisations among its other clients. These include Lima-vady Borough Council, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, the Millennium Forum and the Ilex Urban Regeneration Company. It also lists hotels and entertainment venues among its clients, including the Millennium Forum.
Local government inspectors have been asked by another Derry security firm, City Security, to investigate how six security contracts were awarded to Estate Services without being advertised.
Independent councillor, Gary Donnelly said there was growing concern over how the contracts - classed as Single Tender Actions (STA) - were awarded.
A member of the Derry City and Stra-bane supercouncil, he said there was no suggestion that Estate Services had done anything wrong.
"However, the way in which these contracts were awarded appears to me to lack transparency and I think we have to look against at Derry City Council's processes," he said.
"I contacted the local government auditor because when I tried to raise this issue at a council meeting, I was stopped."
"I received information from the council through a Freedom of Information request.
"This clearly showed that Estate Services received £104,589 excluding VAT for providing security at the council's
Skeoge depot after it was broken into on three separate days in 2012. Another FoI request shows Estate Services received six ongoing longer term security contracts in 2012. We need to know if these six contracts were issued off the back of the single Skeoge Depot STA and why they were not advertised," he said.
Daniel McDaid of City Security Group said he contacted the local government auditor because he felt the contracts should have been advertised according to established principles of procurement.
"The money for the contracts of £104,000 was only the cost to date and I would be concerned that that figure might now exceed the legal point where the council should have advertised the contracts," he said.
A spokeswoman for Derry City Council confirmed that Mr McDaid had also complained to the local authority. She said Mr McDaid had been asked to provide more information.
The council said it has not been contacted by the audit office about the issue. The spokeswoman said all procurement processes were subject to strict guidelines by scrutiny by the local government auditor.
Estate Services declined to comment when contacted by The Irish News.