Petrofac investors in £400m lawsuit

PETROFAC faces a lawsuit from investors that is expected to be worth at least £400m.

The legal action comes after the oilfield services firm’s former sales executive David Lufkin pleaded guilty last week in a Serious Fraud Office (SFO) case to handing out more than £39m in bribes to secure £3.4bn-worth of Middle East contracts.

Litigation funder Innsworth and lawyers Keystone Law are getting ready to launch the case on behalf of institutional shareholders who say they have suffered significant losses on their investments in Petrofac since at least 2010.

The claim is centred on allegations that the oil company was involved in bribery, corruption and money laundering, Keystone said.

Petrofac’s share price fell 29pc after the SFO confirmed it was investigating the company and has failed to recover to the more than 900p it was trading at beforehand.

Shares closed down 1.4pc, or 5.5p, at 388.5p last night. Petrofac declined to comment.