Jailed Ex-Unaoil Exec Ordered to Pay Up Over Iraq Bribery Plot

Friday, June 18, 2021

A former senior executive of Monaco-based oil and gas consultancy, who was sentenced to jail over a bribery plot in post-occupation Iraq, has been ordered to pay 402,466 pounds ($560,000) by a London judge.

The UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which prosecuted the case, said on Thursday that Basil Al Jarah, who was last year sentenced to three years and four months in prison, had to pay up within three months or face a further three years in prison.

Al Jarah, Unaoil's former Iraq country manager, admitted to paying $17 million in bribes to win contracts to build oil pipelines, an oil platform, and offshore mooring buoys in the Gulf after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

The court said he had profited by more than 3.35 million pounds from the scheme.

Al Jarah is one of four executives convicted in London after a five-year SFO investigation that originally centered on the prominent Ahsani family, which ran Unaoil, a company that secured energy contracts for Western blue-chip clients in the Middle East, African and Central Asia.

But the SFO's hopes of pursuing such a high-level prosecution in Britain were scuppered after a clash with U.S. prosecutors in Italy over the extradition of Saman Ahsani.

Saman and his brother Cyrus, Unaoil's British-Iranian former chief operating officer and chief executive, await sentencing in the United States after pleading guilty to bribery in 2019.

($1 = 0.7190 pounds)


Categories: Middle East Industry News Activity Regulations

Related Stories

Iraq, Pakistan Secure Oil Shipments via Hormuz with Iran Agreements

Gulf Marine Services Profit Plunges After Gulf Vessel Evacuations

Brent Near $114 as Middle East Conflict Continues

Middle East Conflict Jolts Offshore Drilling Market

IEA Cuts Oil Demand, Supply Outlook Amid Iran War

Philippines Seeks US Extension to Buy Russian Oil

Borr Drilling Expects Higher Activity as Rigs Return to Work

UK Declines to Support US Hormuz Blockade, PM Starmer Says

Hormuz Crisis Signals New Era of Risk for Gulf Energy

Oil Tumbles, Stocks Surge on Middle East Ceasefire

Current News

Velesto Secures Malaysia Drilling Deal with Hibiscus

Yinson Production, PTSC Raise Over $130M for Vietnam’s Block B FSO

Oil Climbs Above $110 After Gulf Drone Attacks Raise Supply Fears

Global Businesses Face Mounting $25 Billion Fallout From Iran War

ScioSense Launches UFC23 Ultrasonic Flow Converter for High-Precision, Ultra-Low-Power Smart Metering

Inpex Expands Australia Gas Portfolio with Browse Minority Stake Deal

UAE Speeds Up Pipeline Project to Help Bypass Hormuz

PV Drilling Secures Jack-Up Rig Deal from Zarubezhneft off Vietnam

Longitude to Integrate SynergenOG Following ABL Group Acquisition

Petronas Signs 20-year Charter Deal with MISC for Five LNG Carrier Newbuilds

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com