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Extractive Industries/Mining/Oil & Gas
Geneva, Switzerland
Nationality of Foreign Officials: Nigeria
Summary of Allegations:
The CEO and legal director of Addax Petroleum are suspected of bribing foreign officials in Nigeria. More than USD 20 million in payments were made to "legal advisers" in Nigeria and the U.S. in 2014 and 2015. A separate payment of USD 80 million was paid to an engineering company for construction projects in Nigeria. Addax's auditor resigned on 14 December 2016 when Addax could not provide "satisfactory explanations" for the reason or size of the payments. The auditor alleged that it had received a number of whistleblowing allegations from inside and outside of Addax that the payments were made to bribe foreign government officials.
Approximate Alleged Payments to Foreign Officials: Unspecified
Business Advantage Allegedly Obtained: Unspecified
Agencies: Internal Investigation
Results:
Year Resolved:
Compliance Monitor:
Ongoing: No
Details:
Sinopec, the parent company of Addax, is conducting an internal review.
Agencies: Switzerland: Unspecified
Results: Civil Penalty
Year Resolved: 2017
Compliance Monitor:
Ongoing: No
Details:
The prosecutor in Geneva opened a criminal investigation into the Company, as well as its director-general and legal director.
On 20 March 2017, Addax's CEO Zhang Yi and legal director were both arrested during a Swiss raid on Addax's offices and charged with suspected bribery of foreign officials. They remained in jail until 11 April 2017, when Swiss authorities determined the men no longer posed the risk of disrupting the investigation.
On 5 July 2017, the Geneva prosecutor's office announced that the matter was settled, with the company agreeing to pay a penalty of CHF 31 million (approximately USD 32 million). The investigation had found the payments at issue to have been inadequately documented and possibly illegal, but had not established criminal intent. The prosecutor's office also closed its cases against the company's CEO and legal director.
Agencies: United States: Department of Justice, United States: Securities and Exchange Commission
Results:
Year Resolved:
Compliance Monitor:
Ongoing: Yes
Details:
The SEC and DOJ are reportedly investigating China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) over allegations that the state-controlled oil producer paid Nigerian officials about $100 million worth of bribes to resolve a business dispute. Sources say that lawyers acting as middlemen for Sinopec funneled illicit payments from Addax Petroleum, Sinopec's Swiss unit, to Nigerian government officials through banks in New York and California.
Discovery Method: Government Investigation
Details:
Country: Switzerland, United States