UK enforcement: Former oil execs convicted of $45 million kickback scheme
Two top executives of a now-defunct oil company were found guilty Wednesday of fraud and money laundering after a six-week trial in London.
Osman Shahenshah, the former CEO of Afren, and Shahid Ullah, the former COO, took $45 million from a secret deal they made with their company’s business partner in Africa.
They used $17 million for themselves, buying luxury homes in Mustique and the British Virgin Islands. They split the rest with some of the partner’s employees.
The SFO said Shahenshah and Ullah struck the secret side deal to “increase their pay” after Afren’s shareholders objected to their salaries of £6.6 million ($8.5 million) and £3.8 million ($4.9 million).
The FCPA Blog