An investigation into claims of improper payments by a Dutch oil platform firm has admitted it may have made corrupt payments in securing African deals – but insists no credible evidence of bribes could be found in Brazil.
SBM Offshore, which supplies production platforms to the oil and gas industry, said an internal investigation had not found anything to prove claims that Brazilian government employees received improper payments between 2007 and 2011.
The probe came after Brazilian state-run oil firm Petrobras also cleared its staff of corruption earlier this week.
“There were certain red flags, but the investigation did not find any credible evidence that the company or the company’s agent made improper payments to government officials,” SBM said in a statement today.
But SBM admitted its investigation had found “some evidence that payments may have been made directly or indirectly to government officials” over deals in Angola and Equatorial Guinea by company representatives.
Payments in Guinea are thought to have reached around $18.8million, while Angola saw payments of around $22.7million.
The company said it was in talks with prosuectors in Holland and the USA over the findings of the investigation, and could not estimate potential fines over the outcome.