Unaoil
| Private | |
| Industry | Oil industry |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Headquarters | La Rousse, Monaco |
Key people | Ahsani family |
| Website |
www |
Unaoil is a Monaco based company run by the Ahsani family founded in 1991.[1] According to Unaoil, it provides "industrial solutions to the energy sector in the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa."[2][1] Unaoil is incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, a tax haven with an opaque banking system.[3]
Allegations of bribery
In 2010 Unaoil entered into an agreement with Leighton Holdings with the aim of securing a $500 million oil pipeline contract in Iraq. In 2011 Leighton Holdings referred the deal to the police as corruption.[3] In 2014 a UK High Court judge dismissed the corruption claims.[4]
In March 2016 Unaoil was again accused of facilitating corruption and bribery in the oil industry.[5] A leaked cache of emails dating from 2001 to 2012 sent within Unaoil were the subject of a series of investigative articles published by Fairfax Media in the Australian newspaper The Age, and The Huffington Post in March 2016. The Age wrote that "How they make their money is simple. Oil-rich countries often suffer poor governance and high levels of corruption. Unaoil's business plan is to play on the fears of large Western companies that they cannot win contracts without its help. Its operatives then bribe officials in oil-producing nations to help these clients win government-funded projects. The corrupt officials might rig a tender committee. Or leak inside information. Or ensure a contract is awarded without a competitive tender".[5]
In Iraq Unaoil paid "multi-million dollar lump sums" to senior politicians. Other oil producing countries that Unaoil have dealings in include Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Kuwait, and the UAE.[5]
In March 2016 The Sydney Morning Herald published a letter from a legal representative of Unaoil in which the allegations of corruption and bribery are denied.[6]
On 31 March, the Monégasque authorities announced that they had raided the offices of Unaoil and the homes of some of its executives, following an urgent request for assistance from the UK's Serious Fraud Office. The statement said, "These searches and interviews were carried out in the presence of British officials as part of a vast, international corruption scandal implicating numerous foreign oil industry firms. The information collected is going to be examined by the British authorities as part of their investigation".[7] As of the same day Unaoil found itself under a joint investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, FBI, the U.K. National Crime Agency and Australian Federal Police.[8]
References
- 1 2 "Heritage". Unaoil.com. Retrieved 2016-03-30.
- ↑ ""CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE"". Unaoil.com. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
- 1 2 McKenzie, Nick; Baker, Richard (2013-11-18). "Leighton Holdings linked to 'corrupt' fees for Iraq pipeline contracts". The Australian. Retrieved 2016-04-02.(subscription required)
- ↑ Kitney, Damon (2015-03-10). "Leighton corruption evidence 'at best tenuous', UK judge says". The Australian. Retrieved 2016-04-01.(subscription required)
- 1 2 3 McKenzie, Nick; Baker, Richard; Bachelard, Michael; Quinlan, Daniel (2016-03-30). "The Bribe Factory: Part 1". The Age. Retrieved 2016-03-30.
- ↑ Bachelard, Michael (2016-03-31). "How bribe factory Unaoil tried to stop us telling their secrets". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
- ↑ Rawlinson, Kevin (2016-04-01). "Authorities in Monaco raid oil firm HQ in corruption investigation". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-04-02.
- ↑ McKenzie, Nick; Baker, Richard; Bachelard, Michael; Quinlan, Daniel (2016-03-31). "FBI And Justice Department Probing Huge International Bribery Scandal". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-04-03.