Oil bosses jailed over dodgy deals

TWO greedy former oil executives who pocketed money from a dodgy business deal have been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Osman Shahenshah and Shahid ullah, the former chief executive and chief operating officer of Afren, were found guilty of fraud and money laundering last week over a scheme they created to profit from deals with the company’s Nigerian business partner.

They laundered more than £30m in a side deal after recommending the Afren board pay £232m to Oriental energy resources.

The pair used the proceeds to buy luxury properties on Mustique and the British Virgin Islands, while some of the funds went to an inner circle of Afren staff known as ‘the A Team’.

A six-week trial that finished earlier this month found Shahenshah (pictured) and ullah guilty on three counts. Shahenshah faces six years in jail for one count of fraud and a total of ten years for two counts of money laundering, while ullah faces five years in jail for one count of fraud and another nine years for two counts of money laundering. ‘The significant sentences reflect the seriousness of this fraud,’ said Lisa Osofsky, director of the Serious Fraud Office. ‘Shahenshah and ullah violated their duties and their employees, the board of directors and shareholders paid the price. It is satisfying that they have been brought to justice.’

Shahenshah said he will argue in the Court of Appeal that the Serious Fraud Office, which prosecuted, has misconstrued one of the offences at the heart of the trial, ‘abuse of position’. Shahenshah and ullah maintained they were always acting in the company’s interest. In April 2018 both were banned from being company directors for 14 years for failing to declare to the board their vested interest in high-value transactions. Afren went into administration in 2015 after failing to secure support for a refinancing and restructuring.