UK oilfield services firm Petrofac is to establish a “compliance and ethics board” amid an ongoing fraud probe.
Petrofac said last month that the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) watchdog had launched an investigation into the firm and that its chief executive and chief operating officer had been interviewed under caution.
The investigation is connected to a historic probe into dealings at Unaoil.
Petrofac engaged Unaoil, a Monaco-based company, for the provision of local consultancy services, primarily in Kazakhstan, between 2002 and 2009.
Petrofac has since suspended chief operating officer Marwan Chedid.
Read: Petrofac under investigation by Serious Fraud Office
In a statement today, Petrofac said: “As part of the Company’s ongoing commitment to, and focus on, compliance and ethics, Petrofac today announces that it has established a new Compliance and Ethics Committee of the Board.
“This Committee will be responsible for overseeing the Company’s compliance and ethics programme, as well as the continued monitoring of the effectiveness of the Company’s Code of Conduct and other Petrofac policies and standards in relation to compliance and ethics.
“These include the standard for the prevention of bribery and corruption and the ethical, social and regulatory risk policy.”
The committee will comprise three non-executive directors – George Pierson as committee chairman, Andrea Abt and Matthias Bichsel.
The company has also appointed Edward Sparrow as senior external specialist to oversee the management of, and response to, the investigation by the UK Serious Fraud Office announced in May.
Mr Sparrow is a partner in the international law firm, Ashurst LLP. He has considerable experience of liaising with regulators and prosecutors on behalf of clients.