Petrofac shares sink after former executive pleads guilty to $30m Abu Dhabi contracts bribe
Shares in Petrofac are down 20 per cent today after its former global head of sales pleaded guilty to further bribery charges.
David Lufkin pleaded guilty in Westminster Magnistrates Court to another three counts of bribery in charges brought aginst him by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).
Lufkin offered and paid bribes of around $30m between 2012 and 2018 to steer contracts toward his employer Petrofac in the United Arab Emirates worth approximately $3.3bn.
These charges are in addition to eleven charges of bribery already brought by the SFO, to which Lufkin pleaded guilty in February 2019.
They also related to bribes offered or paid to steer the award of contracts to Petrofac in Iraq worth in excess of $730m and in Saudi Arabia worth in excess of $3.5bn.
Shares in Petrofac are down 20 per cent this morning to 133p.
Petrofac said this morning that no charges have been brought against the company relating to this work in the Middle East.
“A small number of former Petrofac employees are alleged to have acted together with the individual concerned, although none have been charged. No current board member of Petrofac Limited is alleged to have been involved.
“Petrofac’s management is committed to operating at the highest standards of ethical business practice,” the company added.