A north-east oilfield services company forfeited £5.6million after accepting that it had benefited from unlawful conduct.
Aberdeen-based drilling company Abbot Group Ltd – now known as KCA Deutag – admitted that it had benefited from corrupt payments made in connection with a contract entered into by one of its overseas subsidiaries and a foreign oil and gas company in 2006.
The payments were uncovered in May last year when an overseas tax authority carried out a routine audit. Abbot then appointed a firm of solicitors and a firm of accountants to carry out an investigation.
The inquiry looked at more than 100 contracts signed over a 10-year period, but irregularities were found with just one.
Abbot contacted the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service under the “self-reporting initiative”.
The company said it was “deeply disappointed” about what had happened.
Youth organisations got a “£1.5million Christmas present” in December as a result of cash seized from the firm.