A top European lawyer has been appointed to investigate claims that the boss of the firm behind the Aberdeen Bay windfarm took a bribe.
Vattenfall has launched an independent inquiry into chief executive officer Oystein Loseth amid “rumours” that he pocketed extra cash from an acquisition in 2009. The probe comes just weeks after the Swedish utility company was granted planning permission to build 11 turbines off the north-east coast.
Last night the company’s board of directors announced that one of Sweden’s best-known lawyers – Christer Danielsson – will lead the probe.
Lars Nordstrom, president of the board of directors at Vattenfall, said he was confident the solicitor would put an end to the speculation.
“Christer Danielsson is an extremely qualified lawyer and lives up to all the demands for impartiality that can be expected to arise in this context,” he said yesterday.
“Mr Danielsson has worked as a lawyer for more than 20 years and is on the list of the most in demand arbitrators in Europe in the 2013 edition of Chambers Global.”
Mr Loseth has said he welcomed the investigation – which will examine whether he received “extra remuneration” when Vattenfall acquired Dutch company Nuon
“It is difficult to single-handedly defend oneself against these accusations when no data is presented,” he said in a statement. The company’s partners in the Aberdeen project – the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) – knew nothing about the investigation.
Mr Nordstrom hopes the probe will restore confidence in the firm’s hierarchy. “We want to once and for all clarify whether there is any substance in the rumour that Oystein Loseth would have received any additional compensation in connection with the acquisition of Nuon,” he said.
“We therefore, with his full consent, set up an independent investigation. We want everybody to feel confident that the matter is thoroughly investigated.”
The EOWDC is a joint venture by Vattenfall, engineering firm Technip and Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group. It would consist of 11 turbines standing more than 600ft tall less than two miles from Aberdeen’s shore.
First Minister Alex Salmond welcomed approval for the project, which was granted by Energy Minister Fergus Ewing in March.