Rolls-Royce settles Unaoil bribery case

UK engine maker Rolls-Royce has made deals with the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the US Department of Justice (DoJ) as part of the investigation into oil and gas services firm Unaoil.

In overnight statements on Tuesday, the DoJ and SFO noted corruption findings, saying Unaoil “regularly bribed officials to secure work for Rolls-Royce.” According to the DoJ, the Monaco-based firm paid officials in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Angola and Iraq, where officials from South Oil Company received multi-million dollar commissions from Unaoil in return for contract awards to Rolls-Royce.

Rolls-Royce announced the Deferred Prosecution Agreements late on Monday, which also included a deal with Brazil’s Ministério Público Federal. The company will pay more than USD 25.2 million to the latter party, while its payments to the DoJ totalled close to 170 million. Rolls-Royce’s payout to the SFO will be around USD 613 million, spread out over a period of as many as five years.