BRITAIN:A BRITISH construction company has admitted that it may have made corrupt payments to Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq to win an export order.
The allegedly improper payments to Saddam's government by Mabey Johnson, owned by one of Britain's richest families, have been under investigation by the UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) for more than a year.
The firm has made a series of disclosures in its recent annual results. Mabey said that in April this year, it "disclosed to the SFO evidence that had come to light suggesting that in 2002 the company may have indirectly made two payments to the Iraqi regime in breach of UN sanctions".
Mabey also disclosed that it "has recently been notified of allegations that certain historical contracts may have been procured through corrupt acts", but did not say how many contracts nor which countries were involved.
The company has called in a firm of City of London lawyers, Herbert Smith, to carry out its own inquiry into all the corruption allegations. New managers have been installed at the firm.
In February last year the SFO launched its investigation into the claims that a number of British firms, including Mabey Johnson, paid bribes to Saddam's government under the United Nations oil-for-food sanctions scheme.
The investigation was triggered by an official UN report which had alleged that Saddam's government had abused the sanctions scheme and demanded illicit payments from foreign companies seeking contracts.
The report had alleged that Mabey paid a $202,000 kickback between 2001 and 2003 and was handed a $3.6 million contract by the Iraqis. When the investigation started the bridge-building firm said there was no truth in the allegations.
The Mabey family has made a fortune - estimated to be more than £300 million - from building and selling steel bridges to 115 countries around the world. Mabey said the allegations had already contributed to a £24 million loss last year and warned the company may have to pay a "significant" fine if it is found guilty of graft.
- (Guardian service)