Monaco-based firm Unaoil is at the center of an investigation by Monaco and British officials after it has been reported that it corrupted the global oil industry. Authorities in Monaco led a bust operation to Unaoil's headquarters, including the residences of the company's leaders.
Monaco officials sought the help of UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to conduct Unaoil's investigation. As per the Monacan authorities, they said that they have been very careful in handling the Unaoil's case. They reportedly followed strict compliance with the European convention on mutual assistance in criminal matters and the UN convention against transnational organized crime, The Guardian reported. An SFO officer claimed that they were aware of the allegations that Unaoil is facing, but they cannot comment on it right now. They added that it would be better if the Monacan oil company will not disclose any information on the matter.
"These searches and interviews were carried out in the presence of British officials as part of a vast, international corruption scandal implicating numerous foreign oil industry firms. The information collected is going to be examined by the British authorities as part of their investigation," the statement said.
The investigation erupted after the Huffington Post and its Australian partner, Fairfax Media exposed Unaoil's global bribery scheme that implicated businesses all across the world, including Halliburton, its former subsidiary KBR, Rolls-Royce and Samsung to name a few. According to the report that was published on Wednesday, Unaoil facilitated lucrative contracts to different parts of the world by delivering millions of bribes.
"KBR is committed to conducting its business honestly, with integrity, and in compliance with all applicable laws," a spokeswoman said. "We do not tolerate illegal or unethical practices by our employees or others working on behalf of the Company." All the companies implicated in Unaoil bribery scandal denied the allegations claiming they are not involved in corrupt activities.
Chief executive of Unaoil, Ata Ahsani, claimed that they didn't pay bribes. According to SMH, Unaoil faces the investigation by the FBI, UK National Crime Agency, the Australian Federal Police and the US Department of Justice anti-corruption prosecutors. The publications, Huffington Post and Fairfax Media said that they have strong evidences of email exchanges between 2002 and 2012 that proves Unaoil's bribery scandal during their six-month investigation.
According to Fairfax, Unaoil didn't question the authenticity of the documents they have, but rather, they requested the evidences to be removed from their server. With the international investigation ongoing, and with the evidences that the publications have, it seems that Unaoil will be in deep turmoil.
