Basil Al Jarah, the former Unaoil partner in Iraq, has consented to a £402,465.65 confiscation order following a hearing at Southwark Crown Court. Al Jarah pleaded guilty in July 2019 to five counts of conspiracy to give corrupt payments, and was later sentenced to 40 months’ imprisonment.
Al Jarah was at the center of the Serious Fraud Office’s investigation into bribery by oil executives during the post-war reconstruction in Iraq. According to the pleadings, Al Jarah made millions of dollars of corrupt payments to Iraqi officials in order to secure $1.7 billion in infrastructure and oil services contracts, enjoying a personal profit of over £3.3 million. Al Jarah was ordered to pay the confiscation order in full within three months, or face an additional three years’ imprisonment.
The SFO has secured the conviction of several other individuals involved in the bribery scheme: Stephen Whiteley, former vice present of SBM Offshore, Ziad Akle, former territory manager for Unaoil in Iraq, and Paul Bond, a former sales manager for SBM.
The SFO investigation is ongoing.