This post highlights developments in the United Kingdom regarding foreign bribery enforcement actions.
As highlighted here, a director of PV Energy Ltd (Peter Virdee also known as Hardip Singh) was charged with bribing a foreign public official in that he allegedly bribed Asot Michael (a Member of Parliament and Government Minister of Tourism, Economic Development Investment and Energy for Antigua and Barbuda) to benefit PV Energy Ltd. PV Energy ltd was simultaneously charged with failing to prevent bribery in relation to the same offences.
As highlighted here, Romy Andrianarisoa (the former Chief of Staff to the President of Madagascar) along with an associate were recently sentenced to approximately six years in prison for requesting “requesting substantial sums of money in exchange for their help in securing an exclusive mining joint venture with the Government of Madagascar.” According to the release, “the pair attempted to solicit a bribe from Gemfields, a UK-based company that specialises in the responsible mining of rubies and emeralds.”
As highlighted here, two former Petrofac senior executives Marwan Chedid and George Salibi, with charged with bribery. According to the release: “Mr Chedid and Mr Salibi, worked in various senior roles within Petrofac Group and were based in the United Arab Emirates. From 2012 to 2018, the SFO alleges that between them, Mr Chedid and Mr Salibi were involved in offering and paying agents over $30 million USD to influence the awarding of contracts worth approximately $3.3 billion USD in Petrofac’s favour. The contracts related to oil facilities in the UAE, including one for the infrastructure and design of the second largest oil field in the Gulf – the Upper Zakum Field Development Project.” As highlighted in this prior post, in 2021 Petrofac resolved a U.K. Bribery Act enforcement action and admitted “that it failed to prevent former senior executives of the Petrofac Group from paying GBP 32 million (USD 44 million) in bribes, to help the Petrofac Group win over GBP 2.6 billion (USD 3.5 billion) of contracts in the oil and gas industry in Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.”
