Petrofac Jumps After Plea Deal With U.K. Fraud Cops

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. oil-service provider Petrofac Ltd. entered into a deal with the U.K. Serious Fraud Office and intends to plead guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery between 2011 and 2017.

Petrofac said it the charges relate to former employees offering or making payments to agents in relation to projects awarded between 2012 and 2015 in Iraq, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. All employees involved in the charges have left the business, it said in a statement.

Petrofac shares jumped more than 22% in London trading after the announcement.

A hearing at Southwark Crown Court has been scheduled for Sept. 27 where Petrofac will plead guilty, the SFO said. A financial penalty will be determined by the court.

“This was a deeply regrettable period of Petrofac’s history,” Petrofac chair, Rene Medori, said. “We are committed to ensuring it will never happen again.”

Earlier this year, a former senior executive at the company pleaded guilty to three additional bribery charges relating to about $3.3 billion of contracts awarded in the UAE. David Lufkin, a British national and former global head of sales at Petrofac’s international unit, pleaded guilty in February 2019 to 11 bribery charges, bringing the total to 14. 

Petrofac is one of the largest providers of services to oil and gas producers, helping plan, construct and operate facilities with a particular focus on the Middle East and North Africa. The share price of the London-based company has dramatically fallen since bribery allegations first emerged in 2016.

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