A north-east-based oilfield services company will forfeit more than £5million after it emerged the firm profited from corrupt payments.
Drilling contractor Abbot Group – now known as KCA Deutag – will have to surrender the profits it made on a contract agreed in 2006 after an investigation revealed irregularities in the deal.
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said the Civil Recovery Unit would take £5.6million from KCA after the company alerted the authorities to the payments.
The civil settlement means KCA and its subsidiaries will now be excluded from any future criminal investigation, but the COPFS said the individuals involved may still face criminal action.
The corrupt payments were made in 2007 after one of KCA’s overseas subsidiaries agreed the contract with a foreign oil and gas company, believed to be a Russian firm.
The corruption only came to light in 2011, when a foreign tax authority noticed irregularities during a routine audit.
KCA launched an internal investigation with the help of forensic accountants and solicitors before becoming the first company to notify the COPFS under a self-reporting regime in July this year.
The investigation was led by KCA’s general counsel, Louise Andrews, who said more than 100 contracts dating back more than a decade and 1million e-mails were analysed in the inquiry. Mrs Andrew added that the 2006 contract was the only one found to be connected to corrupt payments.
She said none of the people involved in the corruption were still working for KCA or its subsidiaries, adding that the payout was not expected to impact on jobs at the firm.
KCA chief executive Norrie McKay said the company was “obviously very disappointed” to have discovered the case.
“Being the first company to self-report under this regime does demonstrate how seriously we take any deviation from our very high standards,” he said.
Ruaraidh Macniven, head of the Civil Recovery Unit, said the self-reporting scheme was launched last year, adding: “That initiative enables responsible businesses to draw a line under previous conduct and, providing the criteria are met, affords the possibility of a civil settlement.”
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said the money would go into the Cashback for Communities scheme, which invests proceeds of crime into community projects.