On October 8, 2020, Basil Al Jarah, who served as local partner for the Iraqi operations of the Monaco-based oil sector support company, Unaoil, was sentenced to three years and four months’ imprisonment for his role in a bribery conspiracy involving Iraqi officials. Al Jarah pleaded guilty in July 2019 to conspiracy to give corrupt payments, contrary to section (1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977 and section 1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906.
According to the pleadings, Al Jarah and others conspired to pay millions of dollars to Iraqi Ministry of Oil and South Oil Company officials in order to secure oil pipeline and offshore mooring buoy construction contracts. Al Jarah’s co-conspirators Stephen Whiteley and Ziad Akle were found guilty of conspiracy give corrupt payments, and were sentenced to three and five years’ imprisonment, respectively. A fourth alleged co-conspirator is scheduled to be retried in January 2021, following a hung jury in his original trial.
For additional Unaoil-related news on Willkie Compliance Concourse, see here, here, here and here.