logo-loader

Petrofac fined £77mln for Middle East bribery scandal

Published: 13:29 04 Oct 2021 BST

Petrofac Limited -
The offences took place between 2012 and 2015 in Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the UAE

Petrofac Limited (LSE:PFC) shares shot higher as the oil installation specialist seemingly got off lightly after pleading guilty to bribery allegations

A judge at Southwark Crown Court today imposed a total penalty of £77mln (in relation to seven historic offences of failing to prevent former Petrofac Group employees from offering or making illegal payments in a number of Middle East countries.

All employees involved in the charges have left the business said the company, which added the SFO inquiry is now concluded

Petrofac said that in setting the fine the judge has taken into account its actions to rectify the faults through changes in leadership, personnel and its compliance and assurance processes.

Petrofac to plead guilty on seven counts in Middle East bribery case

On Friday, the company said the penalty might be in the order of US$240mln or around £100mln more than the amount levied with the SFO said to want a fine of £154mln.

The penalty consisted of a confiscation order of £22.8mln; a fine of £47.2mln and the Serious Fraud Office's costs of £7mln.

Chairman René Médori said: "This draws a line under a regrettable period of our history.

“We have taken responsibility, reformed and learned from these past mistakes, as acknowledged by the SFO and the Court.

“The past behaviour uncovered by the SFO would not be possible today, and we look to the future a better and more focused company, well-positioned to capitalise on the opportunities we see before us."

Shares rose 7.4% to 186.8p.

HANetf founder and co-CEO discusses shift to active management in ETF market

HANetf founder and co-CEO Hector McNeil tells Proactive's Stephen Gunnion about shifting trends in the exchange-traded fund (ETF) market in the United States, indicating a big move towards active management within ETFs. Despite the European market lagging behind the US by three to five years,...

15 hours, 18 minutes ago