Unaoil bribery of South Oil Company and Oil Ministry officials for "Master Plan" contracts (from 2005 to 2011)
Monaco-based intermediary Unaoil and its Iraq partner Basil Al Jarah paid bribes to officials at the South Oil Company (SOC) and the Ministry of Oil to obtain confidential tender information and steer contracts in Iraq's post-2003 oil export "Master Plan" (pipelines, offshore mooring buoys) to Unaoil's clients, including SBM Offshore and Leighton. The UK SFO said Al Jarah paid more than $17m in bribes to secure about $1.7bn of contracts. Three UK convictions after trial (Akle, Whiteley, Bond) were later quashed for SFO disclosure failures; Al Jarah's guilty-plea conviction stood. In the US, Unaoil's Cyrus and Saman Ahsani pleaded guilty to FCPA conspiracy (Iraq among the countries). In Iraq, parliamentary and Integrity Commission inquiries (from 2016 to 2019) produced no public charges, and Iraqi media reported in 2025 that the file had been quietly shelved.
- Period
- From June 2005 to 2011
- Sector
- Foreign bribery (Iraq-related)Oil export infrastructure contracts (pipelines, single-point moorings)
- Kind of case
- Criminal prosecution
- Jurisdiction
- More than one jurisdiction
How the money moved
Agents with inside access obtained confidential tender documents and technical specifications from SOC staff, paid kickbacks and "success fees" disguised as agency commissions, and bribed Ministry officials to approve SOC recommendations.
What happened
UK: one conviction stands (Al Jarah, guilty plea); three trial convictions quashed from 2021 to 2022. US: Ahsani guilty pleas. Iraq: no public prosecution; file reported shelved (2025).
Open questions
- Names of Iraqi officials in the Unaoil files and any Integrity Commission decisions (2016 to 2019 inquiry).
- Did Iraq pursue civil recovery of the about $1.7bn contracts or bribes?
- Status of Ahsani sentencing in the US.
People and companies
| Name | Role in the case | Legal status | Detail | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basil Al Jarah باسل الجراح | Unaoil partner in Iraq | Convicted | Pleaded guilty (July 2019) to five counts of conspiracy to give corrupt payments; sentenced 7 October 2020 (Southwark Crown Court) to 3 years 4 months. Note: the Court of Appeal and the Calvert-Smith review state 3 years 6 months; SFO releases state 3 years 4 months (the two figures differ). | 25 September 2026 |
| Saman Ahsani سامان أحساني | Former COO, Unaoil | Convicted | Pleaded guilty 25 March 2019 (FCPA conspiracy, S.D. Tex. | 25 September 2026 |
| Cyrus Ahsani سايروس أحساني | Former CEO, Unaoil | Pleaded guilty | 25 September 2026 | |
| Oday al-Quraishi عدي القريشي | Agent or official of the South Oil Company (as named in UK judgment) | Accused by an official body | Named in the UK Court of Appeal judgment (prosecution case) as recipient of $608,000; no Iraqi charge or verdict is on record. | 25 September 2026 |
| Unaoil (Monaco) أونا أويل | Intermediary | Accused by an official body | Group companies summonsed by SFO (2018); principals pleaded guilty in US. | 25 September 2026 |
| Ziad Akle زياد عقل | Unaoil territory manager for Iraq | Conviction quashed | Convicted July 2020, sentenced 23 July 2020 to 5 years; convictions quashed by the Court of Appeal on 10 December 2021 (SFO disclosure failures), no retrial. | 25 September 2026 |
| Stephen Whiteley ستيفن وايتلي | Unaoil territory manager for Iraq (former SBM VP) | Conviction quashed | Sentenced 30 July 2020 to 3 years; conviction quashed July 2022 (Law Gazette). | 25 September 2026 |
| Paul Bond بول بوند | Senior sales manager, SBM Offshore | Conviction quashed | 25 September 2026 | |
| SBM Offshore إس بي إم أوفشور | Unaoil client (SPMs) | Not charged as of the date of writing | Employer of Paul Bond; see separate US/Dutch resolutions. | 25 September 2026 |
Sources
- US Department of Justice30 October 2019Prosecutor press releaseTier A
Oil Executives Plead Guilty for Roles in Bribery Scheme Involving Foreign Officials
Originaleach pleaded guilty March 25 to one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
- UK Serious Fraud Office23 July 2020Prosecutor press releaseTier A
Former Unaoil executive sentenced to five years for bribery in post-occupation Iraq
OriginalZiad Akle has been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment
- UK Serious Fraud Office30 July 2020Prosecutor press releaseTier A
Second former Unaoil executive sentenced for bribery in post-occupation Iraq
OriginalHe was sentenced by HHJ Beddoe to 3 years
- UK Serious Fraud Office (via WiredGov mirror)8 October 2020Prosecutor press releaseTier A
Former Unaoil executive sentenced for paying bribes to win $1.7bn worth of contracts in post-occupation Iraq
OriginalBasil Al Jarah was yesterday sentenced to three years and four months’ imprisonment
- UK Serious Fraud Office1 March 2021Prosecutor press releaseTier A
Fourth oil executive sentenced for paying bribes to win a multi-million pound contract
OriginalPaul Bond has today been sentenced to three and half years’ imprisonment
- Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), England & Wales10 December 2021Court judgmentTier A
R v Akle and Bond [2021] EWCA Crim 1879
OriginalSHA-256 56b30c9b3782We therefore decline to order a retrial.
- Law Society Gazette21 July 2022Press reportTier D
Serious farce: SFO slammed over Unaoil case as third conviction quashed
Originalthe conviction of Stephen Whiteley, 67, former vice president at SBM and Unaoil’s territory manager for Iraq, was also quashed
- Sydney Morning Herald4 February 2023Press reportTier D
Bribery is part of the game: Unaoil executive pleads guilty but avoids long jail term
Originalhe was sentenced to a year and a day in jail
- Alsumaria News9 July 2025Press reportTier D
ملف "أونا أويل".. قضية الفساد التي أُغلقت بصمت وتنتظر إعادة التحقيق
Originalطُويت داخل العراق بصمت