Afren forced to notify SFO over expenses woes
TROUBLED oil firm Afren has been forced to notify the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) of concerns around the hiring of an individual within the company in 2012 and the payment of certain travel and accommodation expenses.
The firm said it had also notified the bondholders’ committee, which is in the process of granting the company $200m (£134m) in interim funding, in order to satisfy the conditions attached to the funds.
The discoveries were made by law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher, which was appointed last year to assist in a review of Afren’s internal compliance procedures after a series of whistle-blower reports were made to management.
Egbert Imomoh, Afren executive chairman, said: “The company takes its compliance with all laws extremely seriously and we are committed to ensuring that our business is not undermined by breaches of our internal policies or applicable legislation.”
Afren said it had taken steps to halt previous practices in relation to expenses payments.
Malcolm Graham-Wood, analyst at Hydrocarbon Capital, commented: “The words ‘stable door’ and ‘bolted’ come to mind.”
The firm fired its previous chief executive Osman Shahenshah and chief operating officer Shahid Ullah last October, after Willkie Farr & Gallagher found evidence that they had received unlawful payments from Nigerian oil producer Oriental Energy Resources.
Shares in Afren fell by four per cent yesterday to 3.45p.