Petrofac bosses quizzed by SFO over Unaoil

THE top bosses at oil services group Petrofac have been questioned by the Serious Fraud Office as part of the global inquiry into the Unaoil corruption scandal.

Petrofac confirmed that its chief executive, Ayman Asfari, and chief operating officer Marwan Chedid have been questioned under caution by the SFO.

The FTSE 250 group added that the SFO has commenced an investigation which it believes is in connection with the investigation into Unaoil. “As previously disclosed, Petrofac engaged Unaoil, a Monaco-based company, for the provision of local consultancy services primarily in Kazakhstan between 2002 and 2009,” the company said.

The fraud office said it is investigating the activities of Petrofac, its subsidiaries, and their officers, employees and agents for suspected bribery, corruption and money laundering.

Shares in the £2.5bn oil services company plummeted over 14pc following the SFO statement to close at 700p.

The SFO investigation into Petrofac has emerged just over six months after the oil services company insisted that no evidence was found that any director of the company was aware of any alleged misconduct related to Unaoil.

Petrofac called in lawyers and auditors this time last year to investigate claims a former executive paid $2m to clinch a major oil deal in Kuwait.

It is the latest twist in investigations by UK and US authorities into Unaoil. The SFO announced it was investigating allegations that Monaco-based operation paid bribes on behalf of oil companies last year and has since said it is looking at a number of companies, including Swiss-swedish engineering conglomerate ABB and American engineer KBR, in connection with its inquiry.

Unaoil has denied the allegations. ABB and KBR have both said they are cooperating with authorities, with ABB adding that it had zero-tolerance for financial improprieties and KBR saying that it did not tolerate illegal or unethical practices.