On 24th February 2021 the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) announced it had secured the conviction against a former executive of Single Buoy Moorings Inc. (SBM) in relation to bribery and corruption offences made to secure oil contracts in Iraq.
SFO Investigation | Rosenblatt’s Financial Crime Team
Paul Bond, the former senior sales manager at SBM, was found guilty on two counts of conspiracy to give corrupt payments in a retrial at Southwark Crown Court. On 1st March 2021 he was sentenced to three and a half years’ imprisonment.
Bond’s conviction relates to the SFO’s Unaoil bribery case which has uncovered the payment of over $17m worth of bribes to secure contracts worth $1.7bn for Unaoil and its clients.
Last year the SFO secured the convictions of co-conspirators and former Unaoil territory managers for Iraq, Stephen Whiteley and Ziad Akle, who were sentenced to three and five years respectively. Additionally, Unaoil’s former Iraq partner, Basil Al Jarah, received three years and four months’ imprisonment after admitting to five offences of conspiracy to give corrupt payments. They were found guilty of paying bribes to win contracts connected to Iraq’s rebuilding of its economy following the overthrow of Saddam Hussain. One $55m contract was secured through the bribing of Iraqi officials with more than $900,000 in order to access sensitive information on Iraq’s South Oil Company’s tendering requirements.
Lisa Osofsky, Director of the Serious Fraud Office, said: “These projects were crucial to the reconstruction of the Iraqi oil sector and the future prosperity of the fledgling state’s economy. Bond and his co-conspirators knew this and yet corrupted the tender process for financial gain.
“We are proud to have ensured the four men will be punished for their pernicious crimes, and will continue to relentlessly pursue such cases across the globe.”
Rosenblatt can help
Rosenblatt has a wealth of experience in financial crime and is uniquely placed to support clients’ that are the subject of a Serious Fraud Office investigation and prosecution having being involved in high profile investigations into a global pharmaceuticals company, a multi-million pound affordable property investment scheme, a multi-million pound pension fraud scheme and a world leading global security company.
https://www.rosenblatt-law.co.uk/services/financial-crime/
