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IRAQ'S CORRUPTION
العربية
Cases

Petrofac: failure to prevent bribery to win oil contracts in Iraq, Saudi Arabia and UAE (UK SFO, from 2011 to 2021)

Petrofac Limited pleaded guilty (1 October 2021) to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery: senior executives paid GBP 32m (US$44m) in bribes through agents to win contracts worth about GBP 2.6bn in Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the UAE between 2011 and 2017. It was ordered to pay GBP 77m. Former head of sales David Lufkin pleaded guilty to 14 bribery counts; his earlier pleas related to corrupt offers to influence the award of contracts in Iraq worth in excess of $730m. The Iraqi officials involved have not been publicly named.

Period
From 2011 to October 2021
Sector
Foreign bribery (Iraq-related)Oil services contracts
Kind of case
Criminal prosecution
Jurisdiction
United Kingdom

How the money moved

Agents paid to bribe officials to influence award of oil-services contracts.

What happened

Corporate conviction and individual conviction in the UK. No Iraqi proceedings are on record.

Open questions

  • Which Iraqi contracts and officials were involved?
  • Did Iraq seek compensation from the GBP 22.8m confiscation?

People and companies

The table lists everyone this case names, with their legal status on the date shown. A status in this case does not carry over to any other case, and an accusation is not a conviction. How to read the status.
People and companies
NameRole in the caseLegal statusDetailAs of
David Lufkin
ديفيد لوفكين
Former Head of Sales, Petrofac GroupConvicted14 counts of bribery; 2-year sentence suspended for 18 months (4 October 2021).25 September 2026
Petrofac Limited
بتروفاك المحدودة
Oil services companyConvictedPleaded guilty to 7 counts of failure to prevent bribery; ordered to pay GBP 77m (October 2021).25 September 2026

Sources

These are the documents on which this case rests. Each quote is given in the language of the document.
  1. UK Serious Fraud Office14 January 2021Prosecutor press releaseTier A

    Former senior Petrofac executive pleads guilty to three further bribery offences

    corrupt offers to influence the award of contracts to Petrofac in Iraq worth in excess of $730 million
    Original
  2. UK Serious Fraud Office4 October 2021Prosecutor press releaseTier A

    Serious Fraud Office secures third set of Petrofac bribery convictions

    to win oil contracts in Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates
    Original

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