Petrofac Shares Rise on Guilty Plea to Seven Counts of Bribery

By Joe Hoppe

Petrofac Ltd. shares rose Friday after it said that it has reached a plea agreement with the U.K.'s Serious Fraud Office in relation to an investigation into the company's failure to prevent bribery.

Shares at 1331 GMT were up 13.5 pence, or 12%, at 122.0 pence.

The provider of services to the energy industry said it will make guilty pleas to seven counts of failing to prevent former Petrofac employees from offering or making payments to agents involved in projects awarded in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia between 2012 and 2015, in violation of the U.K. Bribery Act 2010. The offers or payments were made between 2011 and 2017, it said.

The Jersey, U.K.-based company said that a sentencing is scheduled to take place on Sept. 27, and a penalty will be made at the sole discretion of the court.

Petrofac said that the penalty may take into account the company's ability to pay, along with the office's recognition that the company has different leadership, personnel, compliance and assurance processes.

On Jan. 15, Petrofac's former Global Head of Sales David Lufkin pleaded guilty to charges relating to corrupt offers and payments worth around $3.3 billion. Mr. Lufkin had also pleaded guilty to 11 other charges of bribery in Feb. 2019.

"Petrofac has been living under the shadow of the past, but today it is a profoundly different business, in which stakeholders can be assured of our commitment to the highest standards of business ethics, wherever we operate," Chairman Rene Medori said.

Write to Joe Hoppe at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 24, 2021 09:58 ET (13:58 GMT)

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